The Things We Keep or Give Away
by filesfreak4life
Summary: A few weeks after everything seems to turn upside down, Mac embarks on a quest to find something... Harm is right beside her and the fight begins. Will it end in happily ever after, or will a long kept secret destroy everything? Harm/Mac Shipper.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, I've had this in my head for a while and I know that there are other people who have done fics with this kind of story line before. Here is my take on it, and I hope that you all enjoy it… P.S. whoever the guest was that wanted another fic with some angst… sign in and PM me if you've got an idea, and I will TOTALLY try to make it happen!**

**Review if you would all like, and ENJOY!**

It always happened this time of year… that dull ache in her that did not go unnoticed. She would always acknowledge it, but push it far away as to not give away what she was really feeling when this time of year came around. How do you look back on your life and realize that you are an entirely different person from years ago? You know that this person is changed for the better, but you still wonder what if you hadn't changed from that. Where would she have been?

The ache was a lot stronger this year than years previous with the news from her doctor that the future she still had a glimmer of hope to hold on to was probably not going to happen. Even if she and Harm got together after all these years, which was honestly the only choice for her, the chances of them getting the family she knew deep down they both wanted, were slim to none. Mattie was another part of what brought this year crashing down around her. She loved Mattie and loved that Harm loved Mattie, but it hurt her more than she would like to admit.

When Harm came in, he could only hear her end of the conversation.

"Ward of the state? How is that possible?"

"Where is she now?"

"I know that I don't have any… I would appreciate the opportunity to apply for that then."

"I understand that, but you have to understand my position in this."

"I was unaware of that."

"Please get back to me as soon as possible."

She hung up and sat there for a minute with obvious tears in the corners of her eyes. He didn't know what the call was about and had no clue why she could be so upset.

"Mac?"

Nothing.

"Sarah?" he whispers again while reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder.

"Hmm? " she starts, as if not knowing that he was even in the room, "Oh, I'm sorry. What did you need?"

"Are you okay? Who was on the phone?"

The second he asks, she shakes her head quickly as if to get the thoughts out of her head before starting her conversation with him.

"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about it. Now what did you need?"

"Mac… come on, I know when you're upset."

"Yeah, well, you don't know everything Harm." She says with a bite that he was certainly not expecting.

"I don't claim to, but you're clearly upset about something with that phone call."

"Drop it, Harm."

"Mac."

"I mean it, I can't do this… maybe sometime I'll be able to, but right now, I can't do this and I need you to drop it." She says in such a broken way that he can't help but drop the subject for another time.

"Okay… I came in for the transcripts of the interview for the case with the crewman on the Patrick Henry."

"I have it somewhere on my desk here." She says, shuffling through some papers on her desk and finally producing the manila folder for his outstretched hand.

He turns to leave, but before walking out the door turns back to address her one last time.

"You said to drop it, but know that if you ever want to talk about it, you can."

She just shakes her head telling him that it wasn't going to happen.

Your best friend knows everything about you, and Harm probably knew the majority of the worst in her past. All of JAG found out about her husband thanks to the unfortunate circumstances that lead to his death, but that was something that she had kept from everyone. She remembered the sound of his voice when he heard her say that she was arrested for murdering her husband. It was the part of her past that she kept hidden away. Only one part remained hidden away now, and it was probably the worst of her indiscretions.

A few days later, a woman from DCFS came looking for Mac, who was delayed in court. Harm was, of course, the person Coates directed her to in Mac's absence and he took the documents she had requested from the woman to give to Mac. He couldn't help but look into the folder for just a second. A second was all it took to see, PETITION FOR FOSTER PARENTING and PETITION FOR FOSTER CUSTODY OF KATHERINE M. BRANDT.

When she got back from court, he was waiting in her office with the folder.

"I figured you wanted these right away." He says as he hears the door open, which causes her to jump because she didn't know he was there.

"God, Harm, you scared me! What do you have?" she says, coming around to sit in her desk chair as he places the documents on the top of her desk.

She opens the folder and her face instantly goes blank as she starts to read just as he has to ask, "Who's Katherine Brandt?"

"Oh, um… it's just something for a case." She says quickly, shoving the folder into a drawer like it's nothing.

"That has nothing to do with a case and everything to do with the phone call the other day."

"Which you agreed to drop."

"I did, until now it looks like this is something major. Mac, you were so upset with me when I told you about Mattie after the fact. If you are trying to adopt, I think it's great. Why wouldn't you want the support of those around you?"

"It isn't at all what you think it is."

"Then what is it?"

She stops for a minute, staring at him and not knowing what words should be coming out of her mouth. She knew that she needed to let someone in. If she was being honest with herself, she also knew that the only person she would even consider letting in was standing right in front of her.

"Are you doing anything for dinner tonight?" She finally asks.

"Is that an invitation for food or conversation?" he says, assuming that she's inviting him over to talk but wanting to make sure.

"Chinese?"

"Sounds good food wise… what about the other part?" He replies, getting up from the chair across from her own.

"I'm thinking about it and leaning towards talking about what's going on."

"That sounds even better. I'm always here for you, Mac. You know that." He says, walking out of her office to finish his day.

She couldn't count the number of times the two of them ate at one another's apartments, working on cases, just wanting the company of another. It was easy for them to do and they both enjoyed it more than either had the guts to say.

Tonight was another matter entirely and when he showed up at the door, she didn't know what to do.

"Hey, is the food here yet?"

"Yeah, I've got it all set up." She says, gesturing to the coffee table behind her nervously.

"Wow, Mac… you went all out tonight."

"I figured we'd probably be here for a while."

"Noted." He says, taking his shoes off at the door and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt before sitting on the floor to the side of the coffee table.

They don't say anything for a while, just enjoying the food and occasionally looking towards each other with a glance that neither could place. It was so unlike all the other times that it had him worried. She couldn't hold his gaze for more than a moment. Instead of breaking of a stolen glance in a shy and flirty way, she was looking down like someone who was ashamed of something.

"How do you want this to go, Mac? Do you want me to ask, or do you want to start talking?"

She just looks up at him, not saying another word when he decides that she needs the talking points if she's going to tell him everything, "Okay, who's Katherine Brandt?"

"My daughter."

It comes out so simply and in a rush from holding it in for so long that she doesn't even look up when she says it. She hears the whispered "what?" come from his lips but doesn't choose to acknowledge him in any way.

"I was nineteen when I had her and we decided to give her up for adoption."

"You and Chris?"

"No, my Uncle Matt and I."

"But I assume that she is Chris' daughter… right?"

"He didn't know about her. I knew deep down that he would use her against me, so he never found out."

"Sarah, start at the beginning…."

"Do you hate me?" she asks, finally looking up to meet his gaze.

"I could never hate you…. Not for this and not for anything."

She lets out a shaky breath and begins telling her story.

"The car accident I told you about with our friend… at the hospital they told me I was pregnant. It sobered me almost instantly. I didn't tell Chris then because he was already in jail. By the time I got out of the hospital and through the next day and night I had this realization. When I wasn't drinking I just saw how horrible my life was. The place we were living in was crap, I didn't have any kind of direction in my life, and I was going to bring a baby into it. It was about two weeks later that Uncle Matt found me and decided that I needed to sober up."

"You were still drinking?"

"No, but he didn't know that. He just heard about what had happened and assumed that I was still drinking until I told him the situation." She says with a smile on her face that almost doesn't match her sad tone. "I remember him saying to me that we would figure it out and this baby was going to be a loved future Marine."

"I thought you joined the Corps when you were nineteen though, and spent the time in the cave with your Uncle drying out." He says with another confused look on his face.

"Yeah, well… the best laid plans… Katie was five months old and Uncle Matt was out for the evening when I couldn't get her to stop crying one night. I was trying everything and thought about how she could be teething, or something like that. I remembered seeing those teething rings that you put in the freezer and thinking that I could just grab some ice and rub it on her gums. When I opened the freezer I was met with vodka that Uncle Matt had forgotten about from his friends being over a few nights before. She was screaming so loud and she wouldn't stop so I thought that I could just ease my pain a little bit. I vowed to only take one sip."

She stops then, with a shaky breath, not knowing how to continue. Even with Harm knowing her past, nothing was as horrible as what she was about to share. How a mother could treat her child in this way disgusted her now more than ever, and it was she who did it.

"Mac, nothing you tell me is going to make me think any less of you. It was the circumstance that you were in, you have a disease, and you were so young."

"I emptied the bottle… drank the whole thing…and I left. I walked down the corner to the store and got some college boy to buy me another bottle if I made out with him for a little while in the alley. When I got back, I had no clue how much time had passed and she was still crying. It was bad, if not worse than before, so I drank another bottle and passed out on the couch. When I woke up, Uncle Matt was feeding Katie in her high chair at the table…" she pauses, looking off into the distance as if remembering the scene from years ago. "He just says to me 'Sarah, you don't want her to live your life.' And I dissolved into tears. I picked her up out of her high chair and held her close to me and realized that she was as happy as can be. She didn't know what I had done. She had forgiven and forgotten everything from the night previous, but I knew that I would slip up again in time, and Uncle Matt was right."

"Was he the one who suggested the adoption?"

She nods, now picking at the carpet below her knee.

"We found a family, I signed my rights away and we left to dry me out. When we came back, I realized that I needed to get myself in a better place, so I joined the Marines the next day."

"What about now?"

"Something happened… apparently a few years later they wanted to put her up for adoption again, but instead surrendered her to the state."

"Is that even legal?"

"I don't know… but when they did it, I was already overseas doing something with the Corps and the call fell to Uncle Matt because he was the other person who was signing documents as my witness and such."

"Did you ask him what happened?"

"I called him yesterday… and he apologized but explained that he knew that I still wasn't ready to take her on full time and said that they could release her to another family. He thought that she was going to be adopted again right away. He didn't know that she hadn't been."

"She never got adopted?"

"Diabetes… that is why the original family gave her up… the medical expenses were too much."

"You didn't know, Sarah." He says, leaning over to put a reassuring hand over hers.

"I think that the thing that kills me most about it is that I don't know what I would have done if they would have contacted me. Knowing the problems she had, would I have even taken her back? She's my own flesh and blood and I don't even know if I could have handled her again."

"Mac, as much I know that you are going to… You can't beat yourself up about choices that were made for you or opportunities that never came up. You couldn't control her being sick or your Uncle not calling you. You thought that she was living happily with the couple you chose originally."

"I know, but knowing now that she wasn't hurts me that much more." She says, with a sob shaking her body.

He rubs circles on her back as he moves in to hold her to him. He waited until the sobs stopped and the tears ran dry before pulling back and looking into her swollen eyes.

"Why now, Mac?"

"When I found out that I couldn't have kids, it obviously made me think of her. I just wanted to know that when I was given the chance, I had done the right thing by her. I wanted to know that she was safe and she was happy and I made the right choice."

"That's when you found out about her being in the system."

"Yeah… but I want to take her out. I know that she can't be my baby. At this point she probably won't ever think of me as her mother. I know that, but I also know that I can at least give her a home for a few years before she goes away to college or does whatever she wants to do. I want her to know that she was a surprise, but she was wanted. I was just not capable of being her mother at the time."

"And you are now?"

"I can at least be an adult she can count on."

What she was saying was realistic, but Harm knew her better than that. Mac wanted everything to be right with her daughter, and though it was late it wasn't totally out of the realm of possibility.

"So, what are our next steps?"

"Our?"

"Mac, I'm not letting you do this alone. I want to help you, I want you to get the chance to help your daughter. Whatever it takes, we'll fix it… but… promise me something?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't give up on another family just yet. You haven't had the time to really think about everything. I know you told me you needed the time, but I don't want you to think that your options aren't open at all."

"Seeing as how I'm not getting any younger and I see no willing prospects, I'm pretty sure the door is slamming shut."

"Mac." He says, turning to her, stopping her with the intensity in his gaze.

"What?"

"The door is open… trust me."

With that, he starts to lean towards he and she can see what is about to happen play out before them like a romance movie. Before it can get to that point, she puts a hand to his chest to stop him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

**Glad people are enjoying this one! It is kind of random and has been an interesting one to write, so I hope you enjoy it. I'm working on some other things as well, but wanted to update at least one of them so you would have something for the week to look forward to. Review if you would like, but read and enjoy definitely! Yes, I'm wrapping things in a pretty bow... I like my bow... but wait until the new fic that I'm working on gets posted... there are bows, but they may be crooked and tattered at the edges. :)**

"Harm, don't."

"Don't what?"

"I don't want pity."

"Pity is the furthest thing from my mind when thinking about kissing you Sarah MacKenzie. Don't you remember all that I said to you on the porch at the Admiral's retirement? I'm sick of looking at your life from the outside, and I want to be a part of it."

"And I told you that I need time."

"I know you need time, but as you just pointed out… you aren't getting any younger. Or is it me? Have I read this whole thing wrong the whole time? I thought that the feelings that we've alluded to all these years were mutual. If that isn't the case, then I'll back off…"

"When you thought of your life and your family panning out, how did that go?" She asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest and giving him a curious glare.

"What do you mean?"

"What did you picture, who did you picture… because I don't think I'm it, Harm."

He laughs then, placing his hand on her knee and leaning back in, this time succeeding to kiss her like he means it.

"Harm…"

"Sarah, I never pictured my future and I never had the expectations until I met you. You changed all that because you were someone that I said I could be with. You were a possibility back then to me, and now… God, now you are the only one that I want to be with. You have been the only person I wanted a family with for years. If that family is just you and me, that's fine. If somewhere down the line we want to really make Mattie and Katherine part of it, that's great. And if you come to terms with what the doctor said and you want to try for our own or even adopt another, that's great too. I told you that it just matters that it happens with you and me. I want it to be about us, Mac."

"What are you saying then?"

"That I want to be with you… that I love you."

"It took nine years for that… nine years for three words that turn everything upside down."

"I should have said them a long time ago."

"Well, I should have let you say them a long time ago."

"And what does THAT mean?"

"Did Sturgis ever tell you that I told him once that I was in love with you? I told him to not tell anyone about it, and he and I just had this secret between the two of us that I was in love with you this whole time."

"He never told me."

"He was probably afraid that I would Marine-kick his ass."

"I would be afraid of that too." He says, laughing at the mental picture.

It was all out there in the open now, what they wanted. Now it was only a question of how they were going to go about entering into this relationship with all the history they already had.

"So how do we do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what do we do now? Are we dating, are we boyfriend and girlfriend, what exactly are we doing?" she asks and it forces him to think long about the situation.

"I don't want you as my girlfriend… it sounds too high school for me… too not serious to anyone else."

"So, again, what are you going to call me?"

"My fiancé?"

Her jaw drops when he mentions it, and the smile that spreads on his face as a result of her reaction is something that makes her just want to smack him.

"Harm!"

"I'm totally serious. I know that we don't want to turn around and get married right away. We have your daughter to consider and I still want to make sure that Mattie is okay with her dad, but I can't see you as anything less than my wife, and I don't think that we should go that far before all that could happen with you and Katherine."

"Why do you say that?"

"I wouldn't want it to look suspicious for you to petition for custody and then get married right away. It would look like a marriage of convenience to someone who doesn't know us."

"And to those that do?"

"It would be a long time coming."

"So you're proposing?"

"Actually, no… I need you to come with me." He says, pulling her up from the floor where they had been sitting at the coffee table.

"Where are we going?"

"A short trip, but necessary." He says, as they get into the car and start heading in a familiar direction.

The short trip later and they were at Harm's apartment, him leading the way in as he runs up the loft stairs to his small bedroom. When he comes back, he kneels in front of her, producing a small black velvet box in the palm of his hand.

"Now I'm proposing."

"Where did you get this?"

"I got it before I left for Paraguay. My intention was to propose the second we got home, but with how things ended, I thought that you would be more upset than willing."

"So you've had this over a year?"

"Yes."

"Harm."

"I'm not asking for tomorrow or even a year from now, but Sarah MacKenzie, will you marry me?"

"Yes." She says, as he places the ring on her finger and she leans down to kiss him for the second time that evening.

When they come up for air, neither wants to let go, so they stay on the floor, with him holding her in his lap as they bask in the glory of just getting engaged.

"We can go as fast or as slow as you want to, Mac, you know that…"

"I think that just depends on everything else. Are you okay with me pursuing everything with Katherine?"

"If I wasn't, then I wouldn't have asked about our next steps."

"What about living arrangements and the General and all that?"

"I say we take it how it comes. If we want to talk about moving in with each other, we can certainly do that. If we want to take some time to get into the swing of things and go about like we always have, that's fine too."

"If we're going to do that, then what was the point of this?" she says, gesturing toward her ring.

"Well, we would have the added benefit of making out if we wanted to." He replies, wagging his eyebrows in her direction.

"That's all?" she says with a coy smile.

The way she says it, with her voice fluttering in the slightest bit has him automatically flustered, which makes her smile even more than when she made the comment.

"Mac, I would marry you right now if I thought that either of us were ready for all of that. I think though, that we just need a long engagement and we figure out who we are as a couple in the process."

"So, I'm still asking… what now?"

"Now, I'm going to take you back home and on the way get you some ice cream, and we are going to talk about what we need to do to get your daughter back."

"What about staying here and celebrating our engagement?" she asks with another quirk of her brow.

He looks at her, sitting with him with bright eyes and a smile on her face that he hasn't seen very often as of late, and he's tempted to do just that.

"We're getting ice cream." He says, pulling her up beside him and taking her hand in his as they walk to the door.

When they get out to the car, neither say anything and he worries for just a moment about how turning her down might look to her.

"Hey, Mac…" he says, causing her to turn her attention from the ring on her finger to him. "Just so we're clear…" and with that he pulls her to him, kissing her like there would be no other time.

"I love you, but we are going to do all of this the right way."

"Harm, I'm pretty sure that we threw the right way out the window when you proposed to me before ever taking me out on a date." She says, laughing and sitting back in her seat.

"I know, but everything else is going to be perfect."

It really was, as they fit well together in a relationship. If anybody noticed, no one said anything about the Colonel sporting a new piece of jewelry, and no one said anything about the fact that the majority of the past few weeks, they have come and left in the same vehicle. It was almost as if everyone had expected it all along.

They worked together on getting all the paperwork done and back to Mrs. Booth over at DCFS, and it was proving to be a long process. She said that it could take another month before anything would really happen with regards to changing the foster family, or the adoption route that Mac was leaning towards. It was more likely that she would be able to foster for a trial and then possibly be considered as an adoptive parent, which Mac thought was ludicrous considering she really was the parent in the situation, but not in the eyes of the state.

Two weeks after she got the paperwork, she got a visitor while she and Harm were working on a case in her office.

"Ma'am?" Coates says, knocking on the door and walking into Mac's office, "You have someone here to see you. A younger girl?"

"Did she happen to say what her name was, Petty Officer?" Mac asks, looking back down at her paperwork and not thinking twice of who it could be.

"No, she didn't, but I can ask if you'd like."

"No, just send her in." she says, waving her off and waiting for the knock.

After hearing the knock on the door, she tells whoever it is to come in and immediately her heart skips a beat as she looks into her own eyes. The same eyes that she saw sixteen years ago being taken away from her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

**As always, I've gotten caught up in writing too many different things, but I wanted to update this one so you know it is still alive! Hope you enjoy the update and review if you would like!**

"Colonel MacKenzie." The girl says finally, putting her hand out for Mac to shake, "My name is Kate Bran…"

"I know who you are." Mac says quietly.

"I'm sorry for just coming down here, but…" she starts and then realizes that Harm is in the room and looks in his direction for an introduction.

"Commander Rabb… I'm," he looks to Mac for confirmation of the introduction, "Sarah's fiancé. It is a pleasure to meet you. We've been talking about you a lot these past few weeks."

"That's why I'm here. When Mrs. Booth called to talk to me about moving foster homes, she mentioned that it was a Marine Colonel. I knew that it was you, so I… I just came here."

"From Arizona?!" Mac says, concerned for her to travel all that way by herself.

"No, I'm here in D.C. Uncle Matt had me transferred out here because he knew that you were going to be working with JAG."

"Uncle Matt? How do you..."

"When I was little, I would always get cards, but when I was old enough to read them, I think he started sending more stuff. A few years ago, he told me about how he got me sent to D.C. when I was four to find a new family because he thought that maybe one day I would want to meet you. I wasn't allowed to send him letters back, but he said that the lady that worked with you guys on the adoption agreed to let him send me letters if it was okay with my adoptive parents. Since I didn't get adopted, no one said I couldn't have the letters. He told me all about who you are and about you when you were little. It's like I already know you, even though I don't really know you at all."

Mac had tears in her eyes listening to the young woman speak about staying in contact with her uncle for all these years and not being able to get him to help her out of the situation she was in.

"I never knew that he was in contact with you. He never told me." She says at almost a whisper.

"He said that it had to be my decision in the end. When Mrs. Booth told me who it was, I had to come see if it was you that wanted me."

"It is." She says as confidently as she can muster.

"Why?"

How do you explain all of this to a sixteen year old girl that you haven't seen in as many years? How do you tell her all that led up to you finding her again and wanting her back?

"I… you know what, why don't we go somewhere and talk?" Mac says, finally realizing that JAG was not the place to have this conversation.

"Okay." The young girl says timidly.

"Mac, why don't you just go to my place. It's closer than yours and I'll just bring home food. Katherine, you are more than welcome to stay for dinner if you would like."

"Umm… I think that I might like to do that, but I have to be home by ten because of curfew."

"We can get you home… how did you get here?" Harm explains and then asks.

"Took the bus."

Harm turns toward Mac then, watching her hands shake as she grabs for her cover and her purse. When he sees the nerves, he tells Katherine that Mac will be out in just a minute and watches the girl walk out before coming to stand beside Mac.

"You okay?"

"I didn't know that she was going to be here." She says, standing up to face him with tears in her eyes and a tremble in her voice.

"I know you didn't, but are you okay?"

"She's… she's all grown up, and I had nothing to do with it. She's this beautiful young woman and she's my daughter and I don't even know her. What if she ends up hating me? What has Matt told her, Harm? I don't think I can… I don't know how to…"

"Sarah… come on. You told me yourself that she was loved and she was wanted. You just weren't in a position to take care of her when you were 19. You told me that you wanted a chance to be someone for her, so take that chance now, because she's here. Besides, you're an amazing woman, and I can't see any reason why she wouldn't grow to love you like I do."

"I never abandoned you…"

"You didn't abandon her, you thought you were doing the right thing… you were doing the right thing, but something went wrong. But she's here now, so go with her."

"Okay." She says, letting out a deep breath that she had been holding and turning toward the door.

"Mac?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The car ride was in silence and when they got to Harm's apartment and were sitting face to face the silence just grew more and more uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have come before we met with Mrs. Booth." Katherine says, standing up and walking towards the door after realizing how hard the situation was.

"No, I want you here. I want to answer all your questions. That was one thing that I told Mrs. Booth. I wanted you to be fully aware that you were my biological daughter when you were heading into this. I want you to know everything you want to know."

"I'd like to change my question." She finally breaks after a minute, moving to sit back down across from Mac.

"Okay."

"I think that before I find out why you want me now, I want to know why you wanted me then but gave me away."

"Did Uncle Matt say that is what happened?"

"No, but that is what you and that Commander were saying."

"Eavesdropping one of your specialties?" Mac asks with a quirk of her brow.

"Actually, yes. Moving from house to house with bedrooms full of kids, you learn to listen to them to find out what's going on in a new place."

"How many places have you been to?"

"Enough." She says with a far off look to her face.

"Oh."

"So?" she asks, wanting the answer to a question she had asked for years.

"I was an alcoholic. Well, technically, I still am, but I haven't had a drink in years. I grew up in a household where my dad was a drunk and my mom abandoned us when I was fifteen years old. When you were five months old, I fell off the wagon for the first time since I had found out I was pregnant with you. I drank too much and passed out. When I woke up, Uncle Matt had already taken care of you and he told me that I shouldn't make you live the life I had growing up. I knew that he was right, so we put you up for adoption and found a great couple to take you. Apparently they weren't so great."

"They were. I remember little things about being with them when I was younger, and then I remember the day that someone came and got me and took me to a new house. I didn't understand until later what had happened. That's when I started getting the cards from Uncle Matt and Mrs. Booth and met a lot of different people all the time for a while. None of them wanted me, so I stayed in different places. I was always one of the oldest, so I was always the one they said could go to a new place. Something about me understanding it better…." She said, trailing off when she noticed that Mac had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"That wasn't what you were supposed to have."

"What was I supposed to have?" She asks quietly wanting to know the life Mac had thought she would live away from her.

"I thought you were living in the suburbs somewhere with a nice family, maybe a few siblings and a big dog that you loved. You were supposed to be doing well in school and on every sports team you could be on and being happy. I just wanted you to have this amazing life with people who loved you."

"I'm still really good at school… the other stuff just didn't work out."

"I'm sorry." Mac finally says, not being able to meet the girl's eyes.

"You're prettier in person, you know?"

Mac just looks up at her wondering what could have possibly brought the comment on.

"When he started sending me articles and things with you in them I would stare at your picture for hours, wondering where you were now. Were you here or were you off defending a case somewhere halfway around the world. Then I would imagine you coming to get me one day and we would go off together and travel the world and I would be able to tell everyone that my mom was a Marine. I kept it all to myself though, hid the pictures and the articles so no one could see them. I was so excited when I read an article about you working here in D.C. I even got to see that trial that you did on TV. Well, I only got to see one day of it, but it was still something."

"You can't always believe what you see and read."

"Was that other lawyer really one of your old teachers?"

"She was… actually she was the one who told me that I couldn't become a real lawyer. It was to push me, but I think she believed it until I beat her."

"Indonesia, was that real? Did you get that medal?"

"It was… that was a difficult trip for me."

"You saved so many people though…"

"There was a little girl… I went back and found her later and made sure she was okay, but we had to leave her behind."

"She reminded you of me."

"Every child I see reminds me of you."

"Why now? Can I ask you that?"

"I found out a few months ago that I most likely can't have another child. My thoughts were with you constantly then, wondering if I had done right with the only child I would ever have. I wanted to see if you were okay and found out that you had never been adopted because of your diabetes."

"Yeah, well, no one wants a sick kid."

"You aren't sick. You're…." she pauses for a moment to look at the young woman sitting in front of her, "as perfect as the day you were born."

After that comment everything just hung in the air. It was as if the younger girl was trying to make sense out of all that she had just learned and the older woman was still recovering from having her daughter in front of her after all these years.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

**Yet another installment in this fun fic. More development of the relationship between mother and daughter and more questions are answered. I hope you are enjoying it, and review if you would like! Opinions are much appreciated!**

"Are you happy?" Mac finally asks, worried about the answer.

"No."

"Can you explain that?"

"If I was lucky, I would move to a family within my school boundaries and not have to change schools yet again, but that only happened a few times, so I don't have any friends. My family changed every year or so, so I don't have a real family. I don't have any of the things that I see everyone else have, and all I want to do is be something to someone." She says simply, with the wisdom of a child who was forced to grow up too quickly.

"I get the no family thing… Uncle Matt is off in Leavenworth, and he was the only real family I had. Your grandfather passed away a few years ago, and after seeing her when he died I still haven't spoken to your grandmother. I don't know if she's even still alive. Family is what you make of it though. Now I have a family made up of great friends and a man who loves me. It's all the family I could need."

"And where would I fit in there?"

"That depends on you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You can fit in as my daughter or you can fit in as my friend. Either way, I want you to have someone that you can depend on and someone you can turn too whenever you need them."

"And what about the Commander?"

"What about him?"

"Has he known this whole time… about me?"

"He hasn't, but when he knew what I wanted to do, he was in full support. He and I have been dancing around each other for years."

"But you're getting married?"

"We are."

"And you love him?"

"More than I ever thought I could love someone."

"He seems nice."

"He's wonderful really. I hope you'll get to know him yourself."

They sit for another few minutes in silence before Mac stands up to grab some drinks for both of them.

"Harm doesn't really keep anything unhealthy at his apartment, so your choices are water, orange juice, or cranberry juice."

"I'd like some water please." Katherine calls from the couch, glad for the distraction of Mac getting up for drinks. It wasn't every day that you got to sit with the woman who gave you up years ago. It certainly wasn't ever a thought that she was going to finally have a home sometime. She had given up hope on that years ago.

When Mac comes back with two glasses of water and a couple pieces of chocolate, the girl raises one eyebrow in the same fashion as her mother.

"I thought there wasn't anything unhealthy."

"Ah… Well, nothing that he knows about anyway. I started stashing things here awhile ago. Gotta get my candy fix in somewhere."

The younger girl laughs and opens the chocolate quietly while Mac studies her features. She had Mac's warm brown eyes and her more olive complexion, but Chris' nose and chin. It was Mac's thick hair framing her head and her slight curves to top it all off.

"I'm sorry that I just showed up like this."

"It was unexpected, but it was going to happen eventually."

"Really? If you hadn't found out about your condition, do you think you would have looked me up down the line?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Part of me thinks that I would have. Part of me also knows that you would have found a way to find me eventually as well."

"Yeah…"

"So, what about any other questions? Or what do you want to know about the possibility of coming to live with me?"

"Where would we live?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you live here with the Commander most of the time, or do you live in your own apartment?"

"Oh, I have my own place, with an extra bedroom for you if you'd like it. If you aren't opposed to the idea, I could probably look for something near your school so you don't have to switch again."

The girl's head snapped up at that, her eyes wide, "You would do that?"

Mac found the surprised gesture something that tugged at her heart strings. Clearly, she was used to disappointment and used to people not thinking of her first. It almost pushed Mac over the edge that the people in charge of children like Katherine didn't have that kind of heart. "You said that it was something that you didn't like about being in foster care. I could figure out something, Katherine. I don't want to make this harder on you, I want to make it easier. You've had enough hard in your life so far."

"I think that there is some rule about me being able to finish out the school year in the same school if I have transportation. Nobody ever wanted to drive me."

"Driving you won't be a problem, and we can look into that when all the paperwork comes through. What about you driving? I'm sure we could find you a used car to get you to and from school."

"I don't know how. I haven't gotten my license yet."

"Oh, well we can work on that as well if you'd like."

The young girl's eyes narrow at the older woman, almost sizing her up and trying to figure out what her game was. No one was this nice to a teenage girl, and Katherine's thoughts were spinning.

"Why?"

"You're sixteen. Every sixteen year old girl should get her license."

"And the other stuff?"

"You will soon learn that I am a no nonsense person. I hear that you didn't like something and I'm going to try to fix it. This doesn't mean I'm a pushover. I'm just… I just feel…"

"Guilty."

Mac's eyes shoot up to her in that instance. She fully admits to herself that guilt was playing a part in all that she was thinking. The other part of her though, the adult who has seen too much, realizes that this girl never got her childhood. She didn't get the life that she was supposed to, and Mac was going to fix that.

"That might be part of it."

"And the other part?"

"I grew up in a crappy situation. Uncle Matt became this person to me… he fixed it, he empowered me, and I was able to come out of that crappy situation. From what I understand, you didn't get that chance yet. I want to be that chance for you."

"I waited for you… once I was old enough to understand what Uncle Matt was saying to me… knowing that you were still out there. I waited for you to come save me. I just don't know how it's supposed to be now. I want a mother, I want a best friend, I want a home… I just…. I don't want to get my hopes up." She says before hanging her head.

"Katherine… the only thing stopping me from giving you all of that is a few pieces of paper and a judge. If you're willing to trust me and trust this… I'm willing to try my damndest to give it to you. But I'm going to admit to you now that I might really suck at it. I'll try though, and things will change if I can help it."

The young girl just nods, and the two startle at the sound of keys in the door.

"Hey, I know that I said that I was going to call, but I figured that even if Kate wasn't here, you would appreciate the pizza. But she is! Good… I hope you like what Mac likes, because she doesn't need to eat a whole pizza by herself." Harm calls out as he pushes through the door and walks into the kitchen.

"What are you eating?" she asks him as he places the pizzas on the center island.

"A veggie…"

Katherine sticks her tongue out at him, clearly telling him that she took after her mother where eating is concerned.

"Well, then I guess Mac has to share." He says with a grin and gesturing for the two of them to come over and grab the pizza.

As he grabs paper plates, Mac goes for the napkins and they brush up against each other in the process. It causes them to stop for a second and turn in for a quick kiss in greeting, which was not unnoticed by the younger woman.

"Thank you." Mac says, moving then to sit next to her daughter at the counter.

"Yes, thank you Commander."

"Call me Harm… Commander is way too formal for pizza."

She smiles and looks back down at her pizza, taking off each topping and eating it before eating the pizza itself.

"So when do you have to be home?"

"By eight. This house mom is very strict about curfews and such. She gets pretty mad when we don't get back on time."

"Others weren't so strict?" Harm asks, picking up on the comment's implication.

"I don't think that the others knew who theirs were. There were a lot of kids in some houses. It was kind of crazy at times."

"I always figured out curfew for Mattie based on what it was. If she was at a movie or something, it could be later, but if it was a school night, she would have to get in early."

"Who's Mattie?"

"She's a girl who I fostered for a while. She is back living with her dad now, but she was with me for a bit while her dad got back on his feet."

"Do you still get to see her?"

"I do. In fact she's just about a year older than you. You two probably have a lot in common. I could see if she could come up one day after you get settled."

"We were actually talking earlier about looking into a new place so Katherine doesn't have to change schools." Mac interjects, partially because she wants to plant the idea in Harm's mind.

"It's really okay if I have to move around. Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting out of this school. It isn't in the best area, and it doesn't offer a lot of the stuff that I want to do."

"Like?" Mac asks, finding that it was the first time she had brought up any hobbies.

"I like different art classes. The school I'm at now only offers two or three, and I'm already past those."

"We could look into getting you into a couple of noncredit classes at the community college if you would like, but if switching schools is what you want, we can do that too. I don't necessarily like the district that my apartment is in now, so maybe a move is in the future."

It's when Harm chimes in with the idea of her looking around where Bud and Harriet lived that Mac realized that he might want to be in on the decision.

"Harm, why don't you ask around for a real estate guy and see what you can find for all of us." She says casually, hoping that he picks up on the cue.

"I'd be happy to look into a place for all of us… as long as that's okay with you." He says, turning to face Katherine.

"You're all right in my book… minus the fact that the poor woman has to hide her chocolate." She lets out before covering her mouth when realizing the slip.

"What do you mean hiding the chocolate?"

"Nothing." Mac says, smiling at the entire situation.

"Oh no no… she totally tattled on you… where are you hiding it Marine?"

"I'm not telling you anything." She says with a laugh as she watches her daughter grin at the banter between them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

**I know that in my most recent update of another fic, I said that I would only do an update a week on one fic, but I had this half written, so I decided to post it now. This fic has kind of headed to the back burner, but know that it is still in my head. Let me know what you think and review if you would like! Thanks for reading!**

"I can't believe that the two of you survived all that. It's like out of some James Bond movie or something like that. Kinda crazy." Katherine says after listening to Harm and Mac go back and forth about their jobs for the better part of the evening.

"Yeah, well… we haven't done anything too crazy in the last few years, so you don't have to worry about anything." Harm replies, with a smirk as he moves to clear the counter and throw away their mess from dinner.

"We should probably get going if we are going to get you home before curfew."

"Yeah…" the younger girl says looking down at her hands.

Mac moves to grab both their coats as Harm puts his hands in his pockets. "Do you want me to tag along, or would the two of you like your space?"

Mac looks to Katherine for the answer.

"I'd like for you to come with us, Harm… if you don't mind the drive."

"Not at all." He says, moving for his coat as well.

They make the twenty minute drive to her foster home and Mac waits a beat once they pull into the driveway before stating her intentions, "Katherine, you know I'm going to have to tell Mrs. Booth about you coming to see me. My stance is still the same though. If you want, I would love for you to come be with me, in whatever way you choose… daughter, friend… It's all your decision."

"I know, and you have both given me a lot to think about… because I do want it. I told you that I wasn't happy where I am now, and I don't even know if living with you guys is going to make me happy… but it would be the first time since I was about four years old that I had anyone there for me like I needed. That's what I'll tell Mrs. Booth when she calls to yell at me about coming to find you." She says with a small smile.

"She won't yell at you. No one can blame you for being curious… besides, you're my daughter… you heard all the trouble that Harm and I get into. You can't help it."

With a small laugh the young girl gets out of the car and turns back to acknowledge the two, "It was nice meeting you Harm… and it was nice getting to know who my real mom is." She says with a longing look to Mac that nearly dissolves the older woman to tears while she watches the girl walk away.

After making sure that she gets into the house okay, Harm is the one to break the silence, "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

She turns to him then, noticing the concern etched in his features. "I'm… processing about as much as she is. It's hard to hear from her that she didn't get to live the life that I had planned for her. The look of surprise on her face when I told her that I wanted her to be able to stay at her school if she wanted to. She said that she was usually one of the older kids in her foster homes, so they made her move more. It was something about her being able to understand better. I… I don't know how to feel about all of it, but part of me is so angry about everything… and then I think about it, and I think to myself how this could have happened and I realize that it was my fault."

"Mac, no." he says, knowing that she would blame herself forever for this if it didn't pan out the way she saw it happening. "You didn't know about any of this, and your Uncle Matt was right. You even admitted to me that you would have been horrible at that time as her mother. You were so close to your drinking still… you didn't have the strength then that you have now. It could have ended so much worse."

"I think that too, but at the same time, how can I be thinking that this is going to make it all better?"

"You don't think that though. You just told her that she could make the decision and you also told her everything that you thought… Mac you were honest with her. That's why she was honest with you right now about not knowing if it was going to work. You may both want it to happen a certain way, but we aren't going to know anything until it's all laid out in front of us." He says, trying to get her to understand the bigger picture.

"You're right." She says with a smile.

"And besides, I know that it went well, or at least that a seed was planted."

"How do you know?"

"Because she's watching us from one of the windows right now. Don't look, but know that she is just as curious and scared as you are, Mac."

He shifts the car into drive and puts a reassuring hand on her knee before pulling away from the curb.

A few days later, Harm walks into Mac's office not knowing that someone was already in there to take up her time.

"Hey, Mac, what do you…" he starts before stopping when he realizes that someone is there.

"Harm, this is Mrs. Booth." She introduces and the woman stands up to greet him.

"Mrs. Booth, it is very nice to meet you, I'm Commander Harmon Rabb." He puts his hand out for her to shake.

"We were just talking about everything with Katherine the other day, and I was trying to explain to Mrs. Booth more about our situation."

"Our situation?" Harm asked, curious to find out what exactly that was.

"Commander, when others were reviewing the case, it came up a few times about yours and the Colonel's relationship. From what Katherine said to me, she got the impression that she would be living with both of you, but the Colonel says that you don't live together. And I know that the engagement is more recent, which raises more red flags in our eyes."

"We don't live together, and you are correct that the engagement was very recent."

"When I asked the Colonel initially if she was involved she said no."

"We weren't involved at the time of her inquiry."

"So you see why we are questioning how she could go from not involved at all to engaged and possibly going to live with a man within this time frame."

"Honestly, Ma'am, can I just… hold on one second." He says awkwardly before getting up and walking out of the room much to the surprise of both women.

When he returns just a few minutes later, he has Bud with him, which automatically causes Mac to raise an eyebrow.

"Mrs. Booth, this is Commander Roberts. He has worked with the Colonel and I for nine years now, and someone who we count as one of our closest friends. In fact, the Colonel and I are his eldest's Godparents." He says, introducing the two quickly before moving on, "Bud, what did you think when Mac and I said that we were getting married?"

"Uh… I was surprised."

"Surprised why?" Harm asks, hoping to get out of Bud the answer that he wanted to present.

He looks first to Mac, then to Harm, and finally to the woman he just met, "I don't know what you mean, sir."

"Why were you surprised?"

"Because it is you and the Colonel… I didn't know that you had been dating, and then you told us that you really hadn't been and decided to propose anyway."

This time it is Mrs. Booth that asks the question, "And did that surprise you?"

"Honestly, Ma'am, only because the two of them have sidestepped their feelings for each other forever. We knew that it was one of those things that was going to happen eventually. We just didn't know when. My wife and I have been placing bets for years on the two of them getting together."

"So you don't think that they are rushing into anything?"

"They know each other better than my wife and I knew each other when we got married, and I don't think that I could live without her. I know that they can't survive without each other…" he says, and then looks confused for a moment. "Can I ask why I'm being asked this? I hope that they aren't getting in trouble because of their relationship. They told the General right away!"

"It is about the custody of a young girl, Commander, nothing about any trouble."

"A young girl?" Bud asks looking to Harm and Mac, and Mac realizes that it is time to let the cat out of the bag so to speak.

"My daughter, whom I gave up for adoption years ago. I'm applying to foster her now, and our relationship has come into question."

"Your what?" he says with surprise.

"I appreciate you coming in here, Bud, but I believe that Mac and Mrs. Booth need to finish up their conversation. Mac and I can fill you in later with everything else." Harm says, ushering him out of the room.

"One of your closest friends doesn't know about this major life event?" the older woman asks with curiousity.

"No one knew about Katherine until I told Harm a few weeks ago. It was a part of my life that I kept hidden and tried to overcome. I never had any regrets about giving her up for adoption because that was the best thing for her at the time, but I worried what people would think."

"And now?"

"Now, it doesn't matter. I don't know what she told you from our conversations, but she isn't happy where she is and she didn't get to have the life that I thought she was going to have living with the people my Uncle and I picked out for her. I want her to know that someone cares about her. I explained to her that it was why I initially gave her up, and I told her that is what I want for her now."

"And what about you Mr. Rabb?" she turns to Harm, who wasn't expecting any sort of interviewing today.

"Sarah and I got to talk about Katherine and I completely understand her want to help the girl, even if she wasn't her own. I admit that she was the catalyst for our engagement, only because the story made me realize how amazing Mac was for rising above her past and becoming this amazing woman. However, I am fully prepared to help meet Katherine's needs as a step-parent, foster parent, friend, or whatever she wants to see me as. I will be there to support Mac in whatever she needs."

"I see."

"So where does this leave us?" Mac asks, after a moment of staring at her fiancé while he gave his impassioned speech.

"It is my job to go back to my office and convince them that this really will be the best place for Katherine. It's a job that I will step forward with gladly…"

"When could she come be with us?"

"I'll have to get back to you with official dates, but I think that we could shoot for sometime in the next few weeks pending home visits and whatnot."

"After the initial process, can we maybe take her on a few house visits. My apartment is fine for us now, but we really do want to get her where she wants to be and where we can start our lives together."

"What about her current school? She only has a month left in the school year."

"I was under the impression that if we provided transportation, she could finish off the year at her current school. If that isn't the case, then I would move to say that she should stay where she is for the next month if we can get some visitation and maybe a few weekends with her." Mac says, excited to be talking about the plans they already had working through their heads.

"That used to be the case before the D.C. schools got so crowded. I can look into it, but your second option may have to be the one we go with."

"As long as we would be able to see her, I'm sure we can figure something out."

"I'll be in touch." She finally says, standing up and shaking the hand of both before walking out of the room and into the bullpen.

Mac lets out a deep breath she didn't know she had been holding before Harm wraps his arms around her, "Soon, Mac…"

"I waited sixteen years and you would think that a month was an eternity."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Here we go with another installment of this one. I hope that you enjoy them getting to know each other a little bit better. Next time they go out all together in search of a Rabb home. Review if you would like!**

"How was school?" Mac asks as she meets the younger girl at the door.

"It was okay. I'll be glad when the summer gets here because I really need the break." She says, noticing how Mac has folded her hands in front of her while walking in a nervous gesture. "Thank you for coming to get me from school. I know that this isn't what you had in mind."

"You only had two months left in the school year and we talked Mrs. Booth into letting you stay with us on the weekends while you were finishing out. We really want to have a new place when you come to live with us all the time. And we want you to help us find it."

"A house or an apartment?"

"Harm and I want a house, but we want your opinion on a few that we had the realtor select for us."

"That's fine with me. When are we looking at houses?"

"Well, I thought that we would do that tomorrow. Tonight it is you and me, so I thought we would go to a movie and get some food before going back to my apartment for the evening. How does that sound?"

Katherine takes in the moment, realizing it was the first time in a very long time that an adult was really wanting to spend time with her. She could tell that it made her biological mother nervous, but couldn't put her finger on why, so she asks, "Why are you nervous?"

"What do you mean?" Mac says, perking up instantly.

"You just seem like you aren't sure about what you're doing… about telling me your plans."

"This is just the first weekend that you're going to be here and I don't know what you want to do and I don't want you to think that I'm trying to hard or anything like that."

Katherine nods for a minute, acknowledging Mac's statement and choosing to mull it over while they get into the car and make their way toward Mac's apartment.

When Mac shows her inside, she shows her to the guest room that she made up for her that week, adding an easel with some paints and drawing materials in the corner. Katherine is immediately drawn to the area, swiping a hand over the wood of the easel and examining the paints. Turning around to thank Mac, she realizes that she is alone.

"Thank you for the paints, they're really good ones, so I can do some cool things with them." Katherine says, walking out into the living room where she didn't see Mac.

"I thought that you might enjoy them, but I didn't know what you liked to work on. I thought we could drop by the craft store during our outing tonight to pick up some canvas or board for you to mess around on." Mac says from the hallway, coming out from her bedroom after changing into jeans and a sweater for the evening.

"Cool." She says, noticing the change of clothes and giving Mac a sideways glance.

"What is it?"

"I've never seen you out of uniform. When I came and met you at the office, you were in uniform, and any time that we've met with Mrs. Booth, it has been right after work. Even when Uncle Matt sent me pictures it was from military articles and you had your uniform on."

"Oh, I guess I didn't think about that."

"It's just you… and I know that you're nervous. I am too, but I've liked everything that you said and I don't think that you're trying too hard. I'm probably going to think that of myself too."

Mac seems to let out a breath before sitting down on the couch.

"What is your ideal Friday night then? I just want to do whatever it is that you want to do… we can go out or we can stay in… it really doesn't matter to me."

"You might think that this is weird, but I wouldn't mind going out to the store, picking some food up, and staying in with movies and nothing else. I could paint or draw and you can do whatever and we can put a movie in or we could just hang out. The past few years, I've been in some really crowded houses, and I could never just sit in a room by myself and draw or even think. It's so quiet here… I'd love to have that for a while."

Mac regards her for a moment before standing up and walking over to her coat, "Well, then let's get our stuff and we can spend a night in."

"Where's Harm?" Katherine asks as she is getting her own coat on and following Mac out the door.

"He's working late on a case with Bud, so he decided that we could just have the night with each other. He'll be over sometime after breakfast for our appointment with the realtor."

"Okay, that sounds good."

They make the car ride in silence and park near a strip mall that houses both a Chinese restaurant and the art store that Mac wanted to take her to.

"Why don't we go into the art store before we get the Chinese… if you're anything like me with your hobbies, you'll spend an hour just looking at everything." Mac says with a laugh and leading her out of the car and into the store.

"Wow." Katherine says looking at the aisles filled with paints, markers, pens, pastels, and basically anything that she could think of to make art with.

"Why don't you just guide me around and we can see if there is anything that you'd like aside from the paints. I know that you mentioned the art classes, but I didn't know what you liked to use best or anything like that."

"I like painting, but I've doing a lot with colored pencils and pens too. I've got a set of colored pencils at the house that I like to do things with."

"Well, why don't we start there and you can pick out a new set for our place. I didn't get you a book to mess around in because I didn't know what kind of paper you would like, so we can look into those as well." Mac says with a smile as they explore the store a while longer.

After looking at everything Mac notices that of all the things the girl explored and touched, she didn't hold on to any of it. "Is it overwhelming?"

"I've never been to a store like this… there are just so many different things that I'd like to try out."

"Okay…" Mac says in a questioning tone that the girl recognizes.

"I just don't want you spending a lot of money on this stuff for me. You guys are trying to get a new house, and I can make do with the stuff I already have." Katherine says quickly.

"Here's the deal kid… I've already told you that I tell it and see it how it is. This is your thing, and I want you to be able to do what makes you happy. For me, it's cleaning dinosaur bones and running in the park. For you it's art—"

"I actually like the running in the park thing too." She adds as Mac smiles.

"Well, that's another day. I'm not trying to buy your affections or anything like that, but you should be able to do what you love to do. So I'm giving you this money…" she says, pulling the cash out of her wallet and handing it to her daughter. "Then I'm walking out of here to pick up our insane amount of Chinese food, and when I come back, I expect you to have a bag full of art supplies and no change. Got it?"

"But…"

"Get shopping, kid, cause this Marine is getting hungry. I'll meet you at the car."

Mac walks out, wondering if she had done the right thing. She knew that the young girl was not used to people giving her handouts like that, but she also knew what it was like to not have someone support what you were doing or wanted to do.

Katherine was a bit shell shocked with that. She knew that her mother… God, she couldn't really figure out what to call her yet. She had been avoiding actually calling her anything, but really needed to figure that out soon. She knew that Mac wasn't trying to buy her affections. She had already proven that it wasn't the case, but it was a loving gesture. The idea of getting some new stuff to experiment with was exciting, but she also didn't want Mac to think that all she wanted her for was to get her things and let he do stuff that she couldn't. However, she knew that the woman meant business, so she counted all hundred dollars Mac gave her and set out to find the things that she wanted.

When they got into the car, Mac asks, "How'd it go?"

"Good."

"You'll have to show me what you got when we get back to my place. I realized when I bought the paint that I really had no clue about any of it, so maybe you could help me figure it out."

"Okay." Katherine said in a small voice. "Hey," she says trying to get Mac's attention for just a moment, "Thank you."

"No problem."

After getting home and seriously eating the Chinese food they had ordered, they sat down in the living room to watch a movie.

"Can I show you the stuff that I got?" Katherine asks quietly.

"Oh! Yeah, let me see what you got!" Mac says excitedly, knowing that it must have taken a bit for her to come out and be a bit excited to show her the new supplies.

She goes into the guest room and brings out the bag and sits next to Mac on the couch, placing the bag on the coffee table.

"Ummm… before I show you, can I tell you about something?"

"Sure." Mac replies, unsure of where this could be going.

"The reason why I didn't want to get anything was because I don't want you to think that I'm using you or using Harm for anything. I could be happy with no new things and a family. I just didn't want you to think that you had to do things like that."

"Can I tell you something?"

She nods in response and Mac continues, "I'm not doing it because I think I have to. I'm doing it because I think you enjoy it."

"Okay."

"All right, now that we've cleared that up, why don't you give me the supply tour."

There is another few moments of silence before Katherine starts again, "I have one more thing though… I… um… I've been thinking about this and I didn't know what you wanted me to do, but what should I call you? You're my mother, but I don't know if that would be too much for both of us… but I feel like calling you Mac is kind of weird too, you know?"

"I haven't really thought about that, but I would be fine with whatever you would like to call me… mom… Mac… Sarah… whatever it is."

"Really?"

"Whatever you want to do is fine with me."

"Mom… I kind of… I kind of want to try that out. If it's weird though… are you going to be upset that I go back to calling you Sarah or Mac?"

"Can I ask you something?" Mac finally says, seeing the girl's nervousness about the whole conversation.

"Yeah."

"Are you scared?"

She looks at Mac for a minute before understanding that Mac knew what was going through her head more than even she did. "Yes."

"Tell me."

"I learned early to not call them mom or dad because every time I did, I was moved around and I had to start all over again. I know that you guys are okay with all this now, but I'm worried about what happens down the line. You and Harm get married and adopt your own baby or have your own and then I lose Mom and Dad again and you just become another couple in a list of others along the way."

"I'm sorry that you think that… but I get it. My mom abandoned me when I was fifteen. I get that you don't trust anyone and I get that you don't know about your future, but Harm and I are really trying to help you and show you that not everyone leaves. Harm lost his dad when he was really young, so both of us had these horrible commitment issues. Then we realized that there was one person that we had met that we knew would never abandon us. Yeah, they might hurt us along the way, but when push came to shove, they were there. It was each other. I hope that you come to see that with us too… because we both get it, Katie… we do."

"Katie?"

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Mac says, apologizing for the slip.

"No one ever calls me Katie."

"Well, that is what your Uncle Matt and I called you…"

"You did?"

"We did."

"I like it… I mean coming from you… I like it."

"All right then… now that we've gotten the names out of the way, what do you say, Katie? Are you ready to show me what you got?" Mac says with a smile on her face.

"Sure, Mom… " she says, rolling her eyes a bit and digging into the bag, not catching how the smile crept further into Mac's eyes as she said it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: This one has been on the back burner for a while, so I'm sorry. I was doing so good about updating there for a while that I think I may have spoiled you guys. Here is the latest installment of this little fic. I added in something that a reader had commented on. Using what I know and also doing a little research about a few things that I didn't know, I hope that I did it justice. Enjoy and let me know what you think if you would like!**

Mac woke up feeling wonderful about the evening before. The girls stayed up late talking about a lot of different things, stemming from Katie's recent stop at the art store. She called her mom on three separate occasions and Mac could recall every one with vivid detail. It was something that she never thought she would have again, or really ever, and it was here.

When she got up, she started the coffee, knowing Harm would be there in just a little bit to start spending the day with the two of them. After that, she went to Katie's room, expecting the teen to still be sleeping. She knocked a couple times before opening the door to wake her up and found her already awake. Katie turned quickly away from Mac, shielding her kit from her while Mac sent out a quick apology and turned back out the door.

"Umm… come out when you're done and let me know if you would like anything for breakfast." She called through the door and quickly made her way back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Katie emerged from the room and into the kitchen where Mac was getting her coffee ready and pulling out a few options for breakfast.

"I'm sorry. I knocked, but I thought you were still asleep so I was going to wake you up before Harm got here."

"No. Don't worry, I umm… we hadn't really talked about that. That's why I turned away. I didn't know what… I didn't want you to freak out or anything."

"I'm not freaked out. Actually, I wouldn't mind if you let me know what I need to be aware of in case of something happening." Mac says honestly. She was aware of the diabetes, but she didn't realize what it entailed.

"I was checking my levels before I ate breakfast and we went all walking around looking at the houses today. I wanted to make sure that I ate the right things this morning. I check my blood a few different times during the day and then make the adjustments to my pump." She says, lifting up the sweatshirt she was wearing just a bit so Mac could see the small device.

"So you don't have to give yourself injections or anything like that?"

"I used to, but they switched me over to this. It's easier, and I basically only feel the pain of a shot when I have to re-insert the pump. It's kind of weird to explain."

"That's okay… Is there anything that I should watch out for?"

"My doctor tells me that I'm actually really good at knowing what I am. I can usually guess what my numbers are going to be before I even check. If I get distracted though, or I forget to check before or after I eat… then I could have issues. I might get super thirsty and get tired for a while. I usually don't get lows too often, but I get highs a little bit."

"Okay…." Mac says, thinking for a moment. "When this becomes more permanent, or actually before that, do you think that Harm and I could go with you to your doctor so he could talk to us about anything that we might need to know or be able to do? I don't want the burden of telling us everything there is to know falling on you. I want us to be well informed."

"Yeah… that's okay. You really don't have to do that though. I don't want you guys to have to take time to deal with—"

"Hey, I told you that I wanted to be there for you and support you. I know this disease doesn't define you, but it is something that is part of you. I want to know that if something happens, I will be able to help you. If I'm not totally informed, I won't be able to do any of that." Mac says with a firm tone and a look of concern.

"I'm okay with that." Katie says nodding her head and understanding what Mac was saying.

"All right. Well, what do you want to eat this morning? Is there anything special that you need to eat?"

"I've got things mostly under control. Do you have any oatmeal or anything like that? That's usually what I do for breakfast."

"I do, actually. Harm is a big oatmeal person, so I tend to keep it on hand. Do you want some toast or anything like that?"

"Nope, I'm good." She says, watching Mac place a bowl and a packet of oatmeal in front of her.

"All right then. Help yourself."

Mac sits down in the kitchen watching her move about, getting her oatmeal ready and waiting for the microwave to chime.

"It was nice getting to see you talk about your art supplies last night. I can tell that it is something that you really enjoy. Is there anything else that you like to do for a hobby?"

"My only other escape is running. I learned quickly that I could say I was going on a jog and not have to worry about being bothered for a while. I didn't get to go often when I was in a bad neighborhood, but the past few houses I was able to run pretty consistently."

"And all that exercise is okay?" she asks, concerned about the diabetes again.

"If it is a longer run, I'll check my levels during and after, and I run with some energy gels and usually a belt with Gatorade and water. The pump makes it easy to make adjustments to my insulin if necessary."

"Good. Because a love of running is something that we share, and I hope we can do together often. What's your pace and distance?"

"I do about an eight to eight thirty mile and my typical distance is about 4 miles. I want to work up to a longer run though. I have to talk to the doctor about that though, because I've been reading different things about how people work through longer distances with their pumps and shooting for different base glucose levels before they start. I want to know what he says about it."

"Well, Harm and I like running a lot, and go out together all the time in the Spring and Summer. Why don't we make the doctor's appointment I was talking about earlier and you can go with the intention of talking to him about that as well."

She nods and smiles, knowing that she can share the running with someone else. Mac was excited that she found something that she and her daughter could do together and thought of all the talks that she and Harm had while on their runs. It would probably be a great way to get to know her a little better.

As if he knew that she was thinking about him, Mac heard the key in the lock before she heard him call out a greeting.

"Where are you guys?" he asks, stepping in the living room and smiling when Mac pops her head out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Sailor. I'm glad you're here." She says, standing on her tiptoes to give him a short kiss.

"I'm glad that I'm here too with that greeting." He says with a smile, walking into the kitchen and glancing at Katie's breakfast.

"You ladies already ate?"

"We did. Well, I did, and Katie is just finishing her breakfast up. Why?"

"I was going to treat you to breakfast."

"Oh, well, now you can treat us to lunch later. Grab some oatmeal if you need it though. When is our appointment?" she asks, curious as to how much time they had until they needed to get going.

"We have a few hours. We are meeting him at 10:00. We have a few houses to look at near where the Admiral used to live and then a few more in Bud and Harriet's neighborhood."

"Which High Schools are they?" Katie asks, standing up to clean up her dishes before sitting down to face Harm.

"They are actually the same high school district. The houses by Harriet and Bud are right on the edge of the same district as where the Admiral's place was. John Thompson High School?"

"Oh." Katie says, her eyes growing a little wide at the mention of the high school.

"What's with the oh?" he asks, curious as to the reputation of the school that caused the reaction.

"Ummm… nothing… it's a great high school. What are we going to do for two hours?"

Harm and Mac shared a glance before mutually deciding to drop their inquiry into the girl's reaction and think about what to do until their meeting.

"Well, since you to my breakfast idea away from me, I don't know what to do now. We could go for a walk in the park down the street."

"We were just talking about doing some running sometime soon. Maybe we can show her some of our running routes?" Mac suggests and Katie shrugs her shoulders to tell them that she didn't mind what they did.

"Let's do that then."

They spend the next hour or so talking about random things including what Harm and Mac had told the realtor that they wanted in a house. Katie told them a few things that she wouldn't mind and they talked about what she was thinking going into her Junior year as far as college goes. They touched on basically every topic under the sun and got back to Mac's apartment in just enough time to get over and meet the realtor.

Harm and Mac both noticed how quiet Katie got once they toured the first house. It had four total bedrooms with an office off the living room. The back yard was fenced in and spacious. The master and one other bedroom had their own bathroom, while the other two bedrooms shared one. It was perfect, but Harm and Mac felt like they should keep looking just in case there was something better out there.

It had to be boring for a teenager to be riding around looking at houses all day and they chalked it all up to that for a while until her eyes went wide when they pulled up to the last house on the list for the day. They didn't get a chance to comment before the realtor came up to them to talk about it.

"Now this is toward the high end of your price range, but I still wanted to show it to you. Four bedrooms and two small office areas. The kitchen has everything that you could possibly want in it, because I know Harm likes to cook. It could be quite nice once it is lived in. The owners moved out a while ago so it looks very big and very bare in there. I'm forewarning you." He says with a laugh and they follow closely behind with Katie at the back.

They watched her reaction as they walked into the main foyer and automatically knew that this would be too much. "You know what? I think we can already tell that this isn't the one for us."

"Well, that's all I had for you today. Was there anything that you were especially drawn to that we need to talk more about?" he asks and they share a look that tells each other that they would like to talk in private.

"You know what, I think that we have all the information and we just need a little time to think about some things and talk about it with our daughter before we make any decisions." Harm says, letting the term float out of his lips as casually as he had been doing it for years.

Both Mac and Katie smiled at that before Katie allowed her sheepish expression return.

"We are going to lunch." He says, putting his arms around both women and walking them to the car, "I have a feeling that we need to talk."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Here is another installment of this one, dealing more with the feelings that everyone is feeling. It is very interesting trying to get into the minds of the characters and think about their thoughts about the past and things that have happened… putting it to words is even more interesting, so I'm enjoying trying it, and I hope that you are enjoying the outcome. Review if you would like!**

"Okay, what are you thinking?" Harm asks when they sit down at a small diner close to his apartment.

"What do you mean?" Katie says, knowing what he was asking, but wanting him to voice what he saw.

"I saw your reaction to a few houses and I thought you were quiet. That leads me to believe that something is up, so talk to us."

She looks from Harm to Mac a few times before trying to form her words.

"Those houses were huge…. Like too huge for three people to live in, and you guys just acted like they were normal. That last one was enormous!"

"I agree with you on that one, but I thought that the others were nice." Mac chimes in, trying to understand where the girl is coming from.

"It's more than that." Harm say simply, leaning back in his chair and eyeing the young girl, who just looked back at him for a while twisting her fingers together.

"Harm, she doesn't want to talk about it." Mac says quickly.

"Kate, you've got to talk to us… is it the high school? You didn't seem to like it when we mentioned the district. What is it?" he asks again, disregarding Mac.

"Harm-" Mac says with warning.

"No, he's right." Kate finally says after letting out a sigh. "There's nothing wrong with the school, it's just the rich kids school… and the houses were all just so much bigger than anything I've ever even been in. I just don't get it."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Why do you want it? The big house, the rich school, the big yard… why?"

Mac starts to give an answer, but Harm cuts her off saying that he wants to give her his reason, "When I was growing up I had some issues with what happened to my father and my mother marrying my stepdad… then when I got older I just… The loft was something that I did for me and I made it on my own and it was mine to live in… The corvette was something I did for the same reasons… All things that I could have on my own. When I realized what I did about Mac and how much I loved her, I realized that I was doing those things because I wanted more than that. I said to myself that one day I was going to get the courage up to do something about my feelings. Mac and I were going to get married and have kids and move into a big house in the suburbs and finally live out our lives the way I know we both wanted to. Our kids were going to have what we didn't have and we were going to make sure that they would want for nothing. Now… things have come up in the recent past that have changed the picture a little bit, but they haven't changed the outcome." He says, stopping to squeeze Mac's hand before continuing. "Mattie came in and made me realize that being a parent or being an adult that someone can count on is just as important as raising them from birth. Mac and I finally realized what we needed from each other. I gained a daughter in you, and I hope that Mac is open to exploring our options with regards to other children, and I want you to have the best. Due to no fault of your own, or even Mac's, you were dealt a rough hand. The three of us share that in different ways. Why don't we let ourselves be spoiled a little bit?"

Mac and Kate didn't know what to say to that, but noticing the tear slide down her mother's cheek made Kate realize how much the speech meant to her. He referred to her as a daughter and explained that he wanted her to have the best. Mac had done the same last night when she talked about the reasoning behind letting her get the art supplies she wanted. This was going to be different.

"I'm in." Kate says, smiling at Harm.

"Me too." Mac says, smiling back at the two of them.

"Okay, then." He replies, rubbing his hands together and opening up a menu for them to get started with their lunch.

Later on in the evening, after watching a few movies and eating some cookies Harm had baked, the three of them were sitting peacefully on the couch.

"It was a great day today, but I'm beat." Kate says, standing up from her spot on the couch.

"You going to bed?" Mac asks through sleepy eyes.

"Yeah, but I'd like to get up early and go for another walk around the park you showed me if you guys are up to it?"

"Definitely!" Mac says, and Harm nods before standing up.

"I should get going."

"Don't go!" Kate says and then blushes when she realized that she sounded like a little girl pleading for her daddy to not leave her side, "I mean, why would you leave if you are just going to be back here early in the morning anyway? You have a bag packed in the car, don't you? Mom says that you guys always have to be prepared."

"That would be okay with you?" he questions, wondering about the awkwardness of the situation.

"Seriously? Without getting gross, I'm sixteen and not a baby, so I know that you guys have shared a bed before. And… you're going to be my father…or stepfather in a few months anyways… and… seeing as how the three of us just went touring around houses that we were all going to move into, I think you're good."

After letting the blush on his cheeks fall a bit and his eyebrows return from his hairline, he excuses himself to go get his sea bag from the car.

"Thank you." Mac says, standing up to hug her daughter.

"For what?"

"For being so willing to just… try it out."

"Honestly? This… what we did today… talking through stuff, going for a walk, watching movies on the couch together… it's what I've wanted my whole life."

"I'm glad."

Katie smiles before leaning up to kiss her mother on the cheek, "Good night, Mom."

"Night, Katie." Mac calls to her daughter's retreating form.

When Harm walks back into the apartment he is met by Mac at the door kissing him senseless.

"Hey, I know she said that she knew things, but we don't have to give her a front row seat, Marine." He says with a smile when they pull back for air.

"Oh stop!" she replies, hitting him on the chest. "She just went into bed."

"Which is where we need to go if we are getting up early to go walking."

"I agree."

"You go into bed, and I'll check everything and lock the door."

"You're going to be such a great husband." She says, quickly kissing him again before walking to the bedroom.

When he gets in the bedroom, she is already in bed sitting up against the headboard.

"Can I just say something to you?"

"sure." He says, taking off his clothes and climbing into bed in his undershirt and boxers.

"I just want you to know that what you said today at lunch was exactly everything that I've been thinking about. And I've been thinking about what you said about other children… and I'm willing. I'm willing to go to the doctor and talk about options after we get settled in the new house and have custody of Katie. I want that Harm. I know that I told you I can't once, but I do want that with you. I think I always have."

"This really has been the best day, you know? Today at lunch, finally letting out everything was exactly what I needed and I think it was the first time that I just had this realization that we were going to get it. I knew that this was what you wanted. Deep down, you and I are so similar in that sense."

"We want what we didn't have. I think both of us remember when it was all okay and then it just broke into pieces. We want to make sure that doesn't happen again." She says, curling in to him as he sits down on the bed.

"What do you think she's thinking?" he says, gesturing towards the door.

"She told me right before she went to bed that this is what she's wanted her whole life, to do what we did today with the talking and everything else. I think she really is on board."

"How are you feeling about that?"

"Harm, I remember the day we gave her up. I knew that it was the right thing to do, but watching her being taken away from me was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. Seeing her now and seeing who she has become without me both breaks my heart and makes it sing. I knew the moment I had her that the love you have for your child is like nothing you've ever experienced. It is just this rush of emotion that you didn't ever think possible. I never lost that feeling for her and I just love her and I want the best for her and I want her to feel that love and know that it was there all along." She says, wiping a few tears from her cheek after the fact.

"I know that I didn't have the same experience as you, but you know that I love her too, right? I'm going to love her like she was my own as long as she'll let me."

She kisses him then, not being able to hold it in, "and that is another reason why I love you so much."

Kate hears the muffled sounds of them kissing and decides that she won't say goodnight to Harm after all. She had gotten up when she heard him cross into the bedroom to say goodnight but stopped short when she heard her mother speak. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before, the love she knew they had for her and for no real reason but just being her. She saw the love they shared for each other and instantly knew that she would never see a love greater. This might be it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: In keeping with my every other day update, here you guys go with a long one for this fic. I don't know why I'm liking writing this one so much, but I like the idea of them trying to have this life and trying to help out Mac's daughter. I never really liked the Mattie story line because I thought it was very forced. This thought didn't seem as forced to me. I don't know... anyways, review if you would like and tell me your thoughts! Enjoy!**

In the morning, Katie is the one who is up first, drawing on the couch in her pajamas while waiting for everyone else to get up.

"You're already up?" Mac says coming into the living room running her fingers through her hair, "Why didn't you wake us?"

Katie blushes for a moment and turns her head back to her drawings, "I… umm… I didn't know if you guys were… I just came to say goodnight to Harm last night and I heard you two kissing and…"

"Stop." Mac says, putting a hand on the girl's knee before it gets any more awkward for her. "I don't know what a mother is supposed to say in this situation, and I don't know if full disclosure is best, but that is what I'm going with. Harm and I aren't doing _that_. We both agreed that we needed to get to know each other as a couple before we even thought about anything like that… and… in the future… most likely after we are married… we can lock the door. Good?"

Still with the blush to her cheeks, she nods and looks up at Mac.

"Okay, so now that we are done with that awkward moment of the morning, what do we want for breakfast?" Mac says letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and Katie starts to laugh.

When Harm walks into the living room, he finds the two of them laughing on the couch at something he wasn't privy to.

"Why are we laughing?" he asks, which then causes more laughter.

Katie is the one to finally break the laughter, "Oh my gosh, you can't tell him that."

"Oh don't worry Harmon, just some girl talk." Mac says, standing up to kiss him on the cheek before asking him what he wanted for breakfast.

"Okay, I thought that we could actually walk to the pancake place around the corner and then go for a walk after that? Does that sound good?"

"How far of a walk is it?" Kate asks quietly.

"Three or four blocks?" he says with a shrug of his shoulder.

"Can I grab a Clementine before we go?" she then asks Mac who nods before she heads off to the kitchen.

After they get ready to go, Mac is out the door first, saying that she wanted to check the mail from the day before.

Using the opportunity, Harm stops Kate, "Hey, Mac told me about the diabetes. You don't have to think that it is an imposition to ask to take a break or ask to grab a snack. Got it?"

She nods her head and that is the last that they speak of it as they make the walk to the pancake house.

The morning seems to fly by as they spend it walking through the park and then back at Mac's apartment searching through the print outs the realtor had given to Harm.

"Okay, top three?" Mac asks as they are looking at all of the houses spread out before them.

"I'm going to say, this one here, the one with the porch, and the one near the bike path." Katie says first, pointing to each paper.

"I'm going to say, the one near the bike path, the one down the street from where the Admiral was, and the one with the porch, but we have to go see that one before we decide." Harm says, then looking to Mac for her picks.

"Okay, I actually like all three that you like the best." She says gesturing to Harm.

"So the one with the porch and the one that's right off the bike path are the ones that we are considering?" he asks, pulling the two papers out.

"We have to go see the one with the porch though, because that wasn't on the list the other day." Mac says, reiterating what Harm had said moments before.

"The paper says that it is actually right near one of the major bike paths through Rock Creek Park as well. There is a Clubhouse in the neighborhood with a pool and it says something about access to the park district classes. I would love to take some of their classes." Kate says after grabbing the paper from Harm to examine.

"I liked the one that we saw yesterday, but I don't know if it suits us very well. You didn't feel comfortable in any of them." Mac points out to her daughter.

"I didn't at the time because I had all those other thoughts running through my head. Now that I know what the goal is, I think that I would like to give that one another try. Looking at the pictures and trying to remember it, it really was my favorite one of the day because it was big, but it was still very homey." She says putting down one paper and grabbing that one.

"Well, we will have to work on what we want to do with any place that we get as well. Do we want to get all new stuff, do we want to mix our stuff together, do we want a paint theme?" Mac asks to both of them.

"I think that we could probably use your bedroom set as a guest bedroom set up because it is really nice and isn't too terribly worn. I don't particularly care for mine for the two of us. It's too bachelor pad for us to use. My living room furniture would be fun for a rec room if we've got a finished basement, and we'll need your TV. I think we should go check out some new stuff for our bedroom and the living room area or other areas that we're thinking." Harm says, seriously considering their options as he looks around Mac's living room at the furniture.

"What about you? What kind of things would you like for your bedroom? Do you want a regular desk for school work or do you want to save that for the kitchen table and we can get you one of those artist desks with the drawers and things?" Mac turns to Kate, who has listened to all this planning with excitement but then froze.

"I don't know what I'd like. Ummm… I think I might like a desk like that and I like your bed with the iron for the head board, so maybe something like that?"

"Well, whatever you want. We can save that for another weekend and go shopping for new furniture for you as well."

"So what do you say to having the realtor take us to both places next weekend when Kate comes to stay again?" Harm asks Mac.

"I'm back next weekend?" she says with a bit of excitement.

"That was the deal we made with Mrs. Booth. If you couldn't be with us all the time, we wanted you to be able to be with us on the weekends. She thought that it would be a good trial time for you as well, since the other social worker and the judge are going to have to talk to you about your thoughts on living with Harm and I."

She sits back with a sigh, "I just wish that these two months were over. I mean I'm glad that I get to spend the weekends with you guys, but I want it to be all the time."

"We do too, but this is what we've got for now… besides, you're probably going to hate us when we start talking about weekday rules and whatnot anyway."

"Rules?"

"Just a few guidelines that Harm and I have been talking about and some things that we are going to talk with you about before we make this whole thing final."

"Such as?"

"Curfew on school nights, Chores around the house, allowance, getting your license. All things that we will talk about as a family."

The young girl thinks about it for a moment before smiling. "I think that I'm going to be perfectly fine with any of it."

"Really?" Harm says, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"You care… That's what I signed on for. I just ask that I don't have to load the dishwasher. I'll empty it, I'll scrub floors, I'll mow the lawn, do laundry… whatever, but not loading the dishwasher."

Mac smirks at this, knowing that this is one of her least favorite things to do as well. "We can arrange for you to avoid that specific chore… I suppose."

A few weeks pass and they are all asked to meet at Mac's apartment for a home visit, even though they had decided on the house that had a big porch and was actually just a few blocks down from where the Admiral used to live and the bike path that Harm and Mac knew so well. They would be moving within the next month into the new place.

"Why are they coming here?" Kate asks nervously as they sit on the couch talking before the woman from social services comes to talk with them.

"Mrs. Booth said that we will have this from time to time until the adoption is clear after we start fostering you. Even after that there will be a few visits to talk to us about everything that's going on." Mac says, placing her hand on her daughter's knee in reassurance.

The knock on the door startles all three of them and Harm gets up to answer the door as the two girls stand up from their spots to greet their guests.

"I'm Mrs. Blakely." She sticks out her hand for Harm to shake and he welcomes her into the apartment.

She looks around the living room quickly before settling her eyes on Mac and Kate, introducing herself to both of them.

Mac gestures for the woman to sit down but she asks for Kate to show her the room she has been staying in before they have their talk.

It's a few minutes before Kate and Mrs. Blakely come back into the living room, where Harm and Mac have settled next to each other on the couch. The woman notes how Kate immediately goes back to the two of them and they split to allow the girl to sit between them without a word.

"So talk to me about how things are going?" she asks to no one in particular.

"Harm and I have loved having Katie here with us on the weekends, and we've been getting ready for moving into a new place and planning out what we want our new home to look like. She has helped us in so many ways with that." Mac says after a moment of silence, then turning to Katie, who shakes her head that she doesn't want to respond.

Kate looks at Harm with a pleading look and he fills in the next bout of silence, "We've been running in the park a few times together and like to go out to breakfast, but we all like to just stay at home and lounge around on the weekends. I usually read and Mac either reads or works on one of her fossils, and Kate sits with her sketchbook for a while. We do movie nights on Fridays after we grab her from school and she's met a few of our friends from work. It's been great."

"Katherine, how do you think things are going?" the woman asks and Kate takes a minute before answering.

"Things are great. Harm and Mom are doing a great job with me around. They include me in the things they are planning, and we just act like a family." She says quickly and sharply to the woman.

The woman's eyes widen at the girl's use of the word Mom, and Mac jumps in to explain, "I don't know if Mrs. Booth informed you, but Katie is my biological daughter. I gave her up when I was nineteen and wanted to reconnect when I found out she was in foster care and not with the family I intended years ago. Katie and I had a conversation about a month ago about what she wanted to call me and I was open to anything, and she chose to try Mom, and it has stuck."

"She didn't make me call her mom or anything." Kate says quickly with wide eyes and Mac places a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I didn't think that she did." Mrs. Blakely smiles, "Kate, I have a feeling you think I'm the bad guy, and I'm not."

She turns to Mac for reassurance and Mac nods for her to say what is on her mind. Mrs. Blakely notices the exchange and doesn't know what to expect when Kate starts to speak.

"Every time someone new came in from social services, it meant that they were telling me that I was going somewhere new. They always explained that I was the oldest, so I would understand the moving like the little kids wouldn't. They took me from place to place, and I always got placed in a crowded home that had too many kids in it. Please forgive me for automatically making you the bad guy in my head. I haven't gotten to have this before… an actual family. Before these past few weekends, I don't ever remember being able to just sit in a quiet space and draw, knowing that someone was just a step away if I needed anything. Please don't take that away from me."

"I don't intend to. Today is just another in a series of visits that are going to have to happen. As long as you are comfortable and you open up and tell me everything that's going on, I won't have to do a thing. That means arguments you've had, uncomfortable situations and all the happy things that go on too."

Kate nods and the woman looks down at some papers before starting to ask some questions of the three of them.

"When are you planning on moving?"

"We should close on the house in the next few weeks and we will be cutting it close… but the move in date is the weekend before Katie gets out of school."

"That is when you intend to all actually start living together?" she asks and Mac nods.

"Katherine, how do you feel about Mr. Rabb and Ms. MacKenzie living together with you and them getting married?"

"Harm is great and he and Mac are more in love with each other than I think I've ever seen anybody. Sometimes it is nauseating how they give each other the puppy dog looks across the table, but I know that they're meant to be with each other. Harm has accepted me as if I was his own, and I care about him just as much as I care about my mother."

Harm smiles at her when she turns to show him that she fully means every word she is saying to the woman.

"Is there a question as to whether or not Mr. Rabb will be involved in the adoption process?" she asks to Mac, whose eyes go wide at the question. This wasn't something that they had talked about with Katie, nor did she bring it up with Harm.

"We will be waiting until right after we get married to go through with the adoption so I can be included at her father. I asked Katie about it, and she said that is what she wanted." Harm says immediately, reaching around Kate to squeeze Mac's shoulder.

"I'll be Katherine MacKenzie Rabb." Kate says with a huge smile on her face, and then looks to her mother for a reaction.

"I have a feeling that this is the first time Ms. MacKenzie is hearing about this. Do you have anything to add?"

"I didn't know that the two of them had talked about it. If this is what she wants, then that is how we would like to proceed." Mac finally says, shaking her head a bit after processing the idea.

"Okay, that brings me to my next question, which I think has really been answered already. How do you feel about talking to them Katherine? Do you feel like you can go to either of them about any of the feelings that you have?"

"I actually showed up at their work one day after I found out about a woman who was looking into fostering me. She took me over to Harm's at his suggestion and we talked. From the beginning, she has been honest with me and ready to answer any questions I had about her past and what led her to giving me up. Harm has been the same way, always asking about what I'm thinking and not letting me shy away from telling what is on my mind. It's nice to actually be encouraged to talk about things. I've felt like I wasn't being heard in the past."

"And you feel like you're being heard now?"

"Even when I'm not trying to be, they hear me." She says in such a shy way that it causes all the adults to be a bit confused.

"Can you give me an example?"

"My first weekend here, I wasn't really expecting much, and I got here and Mom had already gone out and gotten me some different art supplies that I could work with because I had mentioned it to her in passing. I didn't say that I wanted anything, but she took it upon herself to get me those things anyways. Or that same weekend when we walked to breakfast. I asked if I could grab something small to eat since it was a long walk, and Harm pulled me aside before we left and told me that my diabetes didn't scare him and that I shouldn't be afraid to talk to him when I needed to."

"All right." Mrs. Blakely says, standing up from her chair and moving towards her coat.

The three on the couch were confused at the sudden departure and Kate was instantly panicked inside until the woman turned to the now standing trio.

"I've seen all I need to see and don't see any reason why we shouldn't let the three of you be the family that you deserve to be. We'll still have some visits, but I can tell that she's in good hands."

"She is." Mac says, putting her arm around the younger girl's shoulder.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: This one is a short little update for this story. We're starting to get into the nitty gritty with moving and everything for our small family. I haven't decided what I want to do as far as a wedding or more kids, or anything like that, so let me know if any of you have any ideas for that. Enjoy and review if you would like. I really enjoy all the things people have to say about this little fic!**

After talking to the school's principal, they were able to convince the school to let her stay on there for finals the last week and be able to live out of district with Harm and Mac.

Mrs. Booth pulled some strings to make sure that Kate could be part of the moving process with the two of them, so the day they closed on the house, the new family camped out in the living room of their new home on air mattresses planning the weekend of painting in preparation for the movers and the furniture coming later in the week.

"I still don't know what I want to do with everything." Kate says as they are munching on pizza that evening talking about paint colors.

"Well, I still think that you should do that pale purple on the three walls and leave the other wall for you to paint on. It would be neat and when we wanted to, we could just paint over it for you to do something new." Mac suggests with a smile and a shrug.

"You may be the only parents ever that encourage their child to paint on the walls."

"I've seen some of the things that you've done at the apartment in your book and some of the smaller paintings that you've done. You've got the talent, so Mac is right… paint the wall." Harm adds in with another shrug.

"What about the other room?" Kate asks when she realizes that they've talked about all of them except for the other one on the second floor.

"I ummm… I don't know what we should do with that one actually. We've got the other one as a guest room, so that's covered. What about a room for you to work on your art in?" Mac says, hesitating a bit before doing so.

"Harm already talked about setting up the office so I can do it down there while you guys are working. If I dropped paint or whatever on the hardwood it would be easier than cleaning up the carpet anyways."

"Oh, well that makes sense."

"Mac, we don't have to worry about that room now." Harm says and Kate watches as he squeezes her hand in reassurance.

"You don't have to wait you know? I mean I would be fine with it." Kate says a bit under her breath.

"With what?" Mac asks, and Harm and Kate share a look.

This was something that Mac had thought a blessing, but it was sometimes a curse. Her daughter was very much like her, but in the short time that he has known her, Harm has formed this unique bond with her. The two of them have these big conversations that she has no knowledge of and they cast it off as being no big deal. They had obviously already talked about this.

"You guys trying for a baby or adopting another kid. I would be totally okay with it. In fact I would probably actually love it." Kate says and Mac can tell that the girl is speaking with nothing but sincerity.

Mac then looks at Harm, realizing that he is waiting for a reaction from her in any way. "When did you guys talk about this?" she asks.

"I brought it up when we were in the furniture store. You were looking at couches and we were looking at the kids section, so I asked. I just wanted to know if it was something that you were thinking about." Kate says, sensing that her mother wasn't too comfortable with talking about the idea.

"And you said what exactly?" she turns, directing the question at Harm.

"I didn't really say anything. I said that I thought that we might want to look into another baby or trying for one sometime in the future, but I didn't know exactly when that would be."

"Oh… Okay."

"Mac, I don't want you to think that I'm pressuring you or… I don't want you to—" he starts before Kate stands up announcing that she's going to go up to her room for a bit to look at the wall and draw a few ideas for what she could paint.

They both watch her disappear up the stairs and it is Harm who takes her hands in his before he starts to speak again, "Mac, if you don't want to even talk about it, I'm okay with that. She saw the cribs and she said something. I wasn't going to tell her that we weren't going to try or want another kid. I also didn't give her any kind of timeline or anything either. I remember what you said that day about needing space, so I'm willing to give you that space until you're ready to talk about it."

She sighs for a moment, seemingly thinking the whole situation over in her head before formulating a response.

"Okay… I want the two of us to get married as soon as we can because we've already waited so long for that, that it doesn't make sense for us to wait any longer. I want the adoption to be finalized, and then I want to start a family. All those things that you said those months ago were true and there are other options that I have… we have… and I do want to talk to the doctor sooner rather than later. I know that she says that she's okay with the idea, but I really don't want Katie to think that we're pushing her out."

"Mac, she knows that we aren't. I've never seen a girl of her age more happy with her parents."

"We'll see how long that lasts when she starts to live with us." Mac says with a smirk.

"Tonight's the night, Sarah… she's ours tonight you know." Harm says, glancing toward the stairs.

"I know… I never thought that I would have this chance. Or I thought that maybe some day down the road she would find me, but she would be so angry with me that she wouldn't really want anything to do with me. This has become something so much better than I thought possible."

They lay there for a while, still talking about the logistics of everything including the idea of starting a family in a few months or so. When it is closing on midnight, they both realize that Kate hasn't returned and creep up to her bedroom to find her fast asleep on the floor with her sweatshirt as a pillow and her sketchbook opened by her side. What they see is the picture of a young girl with dark hair on a swing set from a tree branch. Behind her is a tall man pushing her higher and higher and a brunette that looks just like the girl standing off to the side with a smile watching them. The sketch detailed a house in the background with a large porch, and older trees covering the yard.

"It's the house." Mac whispers.

"And it's us." Harm points out, looking closely at the picture.

"It's a younger version of herself… what she wanted." Mac says with a frown.

"Mac, you can't beat yourself up about a past you weren't aware of. You can give this to her now. This is a happy drawing, not a dark one." He says, knowing the thoughts that were going through her head. "I'm going to go grab her blanket from downstairs."

He leaves for a moment and she watches her daughter sleep for awhile, switching her gaze from her sleeping form to the sketch every now and then. Harm was right… it was supposed to be the two of them with a younger Katie. She didn't know what that meant, but she knew that she would do everything that she could to make sure that she would never feel alone or unwanted again.

When the morning came around, they woke up to find that Kate had come down in the middle of the night to sleep on the air mattress next to them in the living room. The light was coming in through the windows and the birds were chirping outside. It was really the perfect way to wake up on your first night in a new place.

Mac snuck herself out of bed and walked out the French doors leading to the porch to look at their backyard for a moment. It was an end lot, and set at the end of the street bordering a patch of woods that was near to the park they liked to run in. She could easily see sitting out here in the Spring time when the flowers were coming in and reading a book on the porch, or watching a storm come in and sitting protected while watching the rain fall down. She had never gotten to live the simple life, and felt like, for the first time, she could actually do it.

"Mom?"

"Hey, you're up!"

Kate walks out to stand next to her mother at the railing, rubbing her neck in protest. "Falling asleep upstairs was probably not the best idea."

"When did you come down to sleep with us in the living room?"

"I have no idea. I just woke up and everything was dark and I walked back down."

"You didn't have to leave you know. You are kind of a big part of the decisions we make now. I don't ever want you to think that we are making big decisions without you." Mac says, turning to face her daughter and placing her hand on one of her shoulders.

"I know that. I said my piece though. I told you how I felt about you guys having another baby and I thought that maybe you and Harm needed to talk more about it. Whatever you two decide, all I wanted you to know was that I'm okay with it."

"Thank you for that."

"Soooo…" Kate says, asking the question without coming out directly and saying it.

"I want the adoption final and I want us married and settled in here before we start trying to have a baby."

"Are you going to try for another of your own, or do you think that you'll adopt?"

"That is something that we will have to go check into. I was told that it most likely wouldn't happen. She said that there was a less than five percent chance of me conceiving, so we can see what those options are, but I don't know."

"Okay."

"So what are the plans for today, do you think?"

"I know what I want to put on the wall, so I would like to get a few new tubes of the acrylics I'll have to use. And I'm thinking that we should spend today painting." Kate says with a finality that she got from her mother.

"Sounds great. What are you going to do?"

"I drew something last night, but I don't know how I'm going to actually get it on the wall. I'd like to try it though."

"Whatever you want… now let's go get Harm up so we can go get some breakfast and get to the stores we need for the house paint and your paints." Mac replies, placing an arm around the girl's shoulders and walking her into the house where they run into Harm walking out of the downstairs bathroom dressed and ready to go.

"You ladies have the plan of the day figured out?"

"Lots of painting." Mac says, giving him a quick kiss on the lips and a pat on his chest.

"Lead the way." He says, and they get themselves ready for a day working on the house.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Here's another update for this one... I don't know why, but I love the idea of this fic. I like the thought process of the daughter and creating a totally different character in the mix, but one who we don't know from birth, but get to jump right in and get to know her a little later in life. I also haven't decided if I'm going to even put Mattie in this fic. I really didn't like that story line on the show, so I don't know if I can put her in this one now... hmmm... decisions I have to make... Review if you would like please and thank you!**

"I need to take a break." Kate says, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Mac looks at her in concern before noticing that it was a bit cool in the room for her daughter to be sweating the way she was.

"Where's your kit?" she asks quickly once Kate sits down.

Harm notes the urgency in Mac's voice and steps off the ladder to sit down next to her.

"Mom, it's fine."

"No, it's not. Where is it?"

"Upstairs in the bathroom." She says and lets out a loud breath.

"I'm going to grab you some juice from the fridge, okay?" Harm says and she nods slowly.

After checking her levels and a quick adjustment, they decide they are done for the day with painting, Kate laying down on the air mattress with her head in Mac's lap.

"You feeling better?" she asks while stroking the girl's hair.

"I am, I'm sorry though."

"Don't be sorry. It's fine. You should have said something."

"I thought that I was fine, I just thought I was getting a little hot from the work."

"I was actually thinking… why don't you ladies go shopping tomorrow for bedding and all that fun stuff and I'll see if I can get Sturgis and Bud over here to help with the painting? I'll order us some pizzas and we can have the whole Robert's crew over for dinner as well."

"That is a great idea." Mac says and then looks down at Kate before continuing, "and you and I can finalize what you want for your bedroom, and you can help me pick out the stuff for mine and Harm's bedroom. We need some bathroom stuff too, so you can pick out the one for the bathroom you'll be using the most."

"Can that one be purple too?"

"It can be whatever you want it to be." Mac says with a laugh.

The next morning, the boys arrive to help Harm and Harriet comes along announcing that her parents were in town and offered to take care of all the kids for the day to give her and Bud a break.

"Oh, we don't want to steal your day away from you!" Mac says.

"Don't worry about it. They are taking them all day and dropping them off tomorrow afternoon. We still have some alone time and we know how much you guys have to get this done before the furniture is delivered on Tuesday."

"Thank you guys." Harm says, patting Bud on the back.

"I'll see you later." Mac says, kissing his cheek and leading the girls out the door.

Shopping for bathroom and bedroom linens was proving to be a bigger issue than they originally thought, but the girls we having fun nonetheless.

"Okay, he is not going to go for that." Kate says, eyeing the bedspread Mac liked.

"Why?"

"Too girly, she's right." Harriet adds.

"It has blue in it..."

"yeah, a light blue to contrast with all the purple. I'm all about the purple, and I even think that it might be a bit much." Kate says matter of factly before walking away from the two women.

Harriet and Mac sit on the bed in question as Mac starts to get frustrated with all their shopping coming up with nothing. They had already been to a few different stores and while they did find Katie some bedding and stuff for both bathrooms, they couldn't find a bedroom set for the two of them.

"Hey mom! I found one!" Kate yells from a few 'rooms' over.

It is a light blue spread with beige and brown designs covering it, with dark brown pillow shams and neatly designed throw pillows. It was girly enough in design, but had a masculine color scheme that she thought Harm would appreciate.

"This is nice." Mac says, coming over to test out the different fabrics of the set.

"I think Harm'll like it, don't you?"

"I think he will like it a lot!"

They get the rest of the things they thought they would need at various places and made their way to a small café to grab some lunch before heading back to the apartment to finish helping the boys and to open up all their new stuff.

"I didn't realize how much more you need when you are moving into a new house. I didn't really buy much when I moved into my apartment, and you don't really need much when you live somewhere so small. This is totally different."

"I'm just excited that I get my very own room for once!"

"Mac said that you are going to make a mural on one of the walls in your room, did you decide what you wanted to do?"

"I was actually thinking of something different than what I showed you guys before… I know you liked that, but I thought of an even cooler idea that would work." Kate says, looking to Mac for the okay before sharing her idea.

She had decided that she wanted to be able to change the artwork on the wall often, so she thought that using the colors from her other walls and her new bedding, she was going to make an abstract picture of bright swirls and doodled flowers all along the wall. In different places she wanted to make frames where she could change out her artwork.

"That sounds great! In fact, we are right around the corner from the art store. Why don't we stop in while we have your bedding and you can get some paints for the wall and I'm sure that if we went to the thrift store we could find some big, antique-looking frames that you could paint to hang on the wall. We could take the backs and the glass out of them so you could put whatever you wanted in them. Make it kind of 3-D." Mac says, admiring the way she lit up when she talked about her ideas.

She thought for a moment before nodding, "That's a really cool idea. If you guys don't mind, I think it would be cool to have it done before we get the furniture."

"You still have school on Monday and Tuesday my darling… don't forget that."

"Yes, but I have finals next week, so I'll be home early those days anyways."

"Home early to study for finals…" Mac says in a monotone while squinting her eyes in a playful way at her daughter.

"I will study. You can even quiz me… but can I still work on my wall to try and get it done before they come?"

"Yes, you may."

"Sweet! Can I hit the bathroom before we leave?"

"Of course." Mac replies, and watches her walk away from the table with a smile on her face.

"Motherhood suits you, you know?" Harriet says quietly.

"She's a great kid."

"Still, Mac… you really seem content with this whole thing…I have to be honest… when Bud told me everything, I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what to think and then to realize that you and Harm were going to be together. It was a lot to wrap my mind around."

"You think it was a lot? Try being me! I was a woman who didn't think that she could ever have a child, gave up a baby when she was young, and suddenly I have a fiancé and a teenager!"

"And?" Harriet says, noting the playful note in Mac's tone, but sensing there was more.

"Harriet, when I was younger and Katie was born, I thought I could turn it all around. I knew that I could do it for her, but I failed. To be given a second chance with her and to help her have a family means the world to me. I didn't think that I could love someone the way I love that girl, and seeing the way Harm loves her makes it all the more special to me. I want her to have this family and I want her to get to do all those things that she couldn't do and that Harm and I didn't get to do because of our situations. I want her to really see me as her mom and I want her to see Harm as a dad and I just hope that she is as happy as the two of us are."

Around the corner, Kate heard Harriet's comment and waited to hear her mother's reaction. It was everything she was fearing it wasn't. She had this thought in the back of her mind that Harm and Mac were putting on a front in some ways, but the way she heard Mac speak was true. They really did find a home with her and they wanted to build that, and she let her guard drop just a bit more before making her way back to the table.

"You guys ready?" She asks, sitting opposite her mother and glancing between the two women.

"I think we are. Are you ready to pick your colors?" Mac asks, knowing that she loved getting new colors to play with.

"You know I'm always ready for that. I have the idea in my head already, so I know what I want for the most part. Harriet, thanks for coming along with us today. I'm glad that you could help us." Kate says, surprising both Harriet and Mac with the sincerity in her voice.

"It has been great getting to spend time with you. I haven't really gotten to know you at all and I'm glad that we had fun today."

"We haven't had fun until we go to the thrift store and the art store… seriously… thrift stores are awesome just because you can find all these crazy different things that people have given up… and the art store is basically my new favorite place in the universe."

"Well okay then." Harriet says, laughing as the young girl walks ahead of them to the car.

By the time they get home, the guys are almost done painting everything in the house.

"I can't believe how much you guys have done! This is crazy!" Mac says, kissing Harm after walking into the downstairs office.

"Everything upstairs is done—"

"Even the purple in my room?!" Kate asks excitedly.

"Even the purple in your room. I figured that you'd –"

"Thanks mom, thanks da—Harm… thanks Harm!" she says, blushing when she realizes the slip, "Can I go up and start working on the wall?"

"Sure, but don't get to into it because we're ordering the pizza and we want you to come down for that."

"Okay, thanks!" she says, running up the stairs to start sketching on her wall.

Harm and Mac exchange a glance that just solidifies what they are doing here and with Kate, and then go on with talking about the rest of the painting day.

"As I was saying, we got everything done upstairs, we finished the kitchen first down here, did the accent wall in the living room, are almost done in here, and then we're going to do the rest of the living room and dining room."

"Since you finished upstairs, do you think that the bathrooms are going to be pretty set?"

"I'd wait to put everything in there, but I'm sure that you want to look at how everything goes with the paint. Why don't you guys make sure about all that and then order the pizza. I'm sure that by the time that gets here, we'll be ready to eat and everything will be done. It will also give our daughter a good hour and a half to get started on her wall."

She smiles again when he uses the term and nods in agreement before giving Harriet a tour of the upstairs. They check everything in the lights and with the new paint and it seems that it will all be a perfect match. The timeline of the week is to have everything cleaned and ready by Tuesday, then the new furniture is going to be delivered. Wednesday, or Tuesday evening depending on the furniture company, they are going to start bringing loads of stuff from Harm and Mac's apartments, slowly getting everything in the place they want it. Harm and Mac agreed that they would start with all the kitchen stuff and a few loads of clothes so they could spend Tuesday night in their new home.

A little over an hour later, the doorbell rings and dinner has arrived. The guys still have a wall to finish, but agree that they want the break before finishing.

"You want to go get Kate and wash up?"

"Yeah, I'll go get her." Harm says, knowing that Mac was giving him the opportunity to go up and talk to her by himself.

When he reaches the door to her bedroom, he's amazed by the progress she has already made. Boxes are already taped on the wall where her frames are going to go, and some of the swirls are already drawn in place.

"You've done a lot already!" He says, walking in and she turns with a smile.

"Yeah, once I realized what I wanted to do, I couldn't help what was coming out… I think it's going to look really neat… especially with the bedding that we got today."

"Very cool…and hey… um…"

"Don't even say anything, I'm embarrassed." She says, knowing what he was going to bring up.

"No, I want you to know that I'm totally okay with that. Mattie used to refer to me as her dad all the time. You do what feels right. You're a part of this family and you know that I love you and care about you like you were my own. You're a part of Mac, and that in itself means that you mean the world to me. Don't feel like it'll weird me out, cause it won't."

"I just thought that I would have talked to you about it before it slipped out, kinda like me and mom. That first weekend that I spent with you guys and I kept trying to avoid calling her anything because I didn't know what to call her. It was weird and then I just brought it up. I thought I was going to wait until everything was final, but it slipped." She says sheepishly and he laughs.

"I get it. Just know that slip or not, I'm fine with dad or Harm… whatever you want."

"Thanks Harm."

"No problem… now put your pencil down for a minute so we can get some pizza."

"Did you guys finish?" she says, putting her pencil down and walking to follow Harm down the stairs.

"We just have one more wall to do. Then I'm thinking we're done with everything."

"You did a lot!"

"Good friends means good help. I couldn't have done it without Bud and Sturgis helping me today." He says, and notices that she seems to be contemplating a thought after he says it.

"I hope that I get that. Knowing that I'm in one place and feeling settled, I really want to find a friend that I can call my friend. I know that sounds lame, but I never made good friends growing up because of my situation. I really want to though."

"You will. You're a great kid."

"That was such a lame dad thing to say." She says with a laugh.

"Just living up to the title." He replies, also laughing as they turn the corner into the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I know…. I know that you are all mad… but honestly, my life has been chaos the past few months and I'm just starting to see a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. It's still all crazy, but I thought that I would take a break and post this chapter that I was working on before the storm that was my life! Enjoy and review if you would like!**

The painting gets done that evening and Harm took Tuesday off to wait for the furniture delivery. Mac got roped into a new case and would be in court that day, so her helping was out of the question. Kate was in the middle of finals week, so she got home early starting on Tuesday. They had a final day on Monday in which they saw all their teachers for any last minute questions and then spent the rest of the week in finals, which she wasn't too excited about. Her junior and senior year, she most likely wouldn't have to take the finals, because her grades are always pretty good and they have a rule that if you get straight As in the class all semester, you don't have to take them. However, she will have to take them as a sophomore.

"I'm home, is it here yet?" she says walking in the door and finding Harm in the kitchen putting some stuff away.

"Not yet. I went over to my place and got the boxes of kitchen stuff though. Will you help me figure out where I should put everything?"

"Are you sure that they didn't try to deliver the furniture while you were at your apartment?" she asks, after the same thing happened with the cable guy a few days before.

"They called and said that the furniture would be delivered sometime between 3 and 6 this evening."

"A three hour window?" Kate says with an eyebrow quirked much like her mother often does. The action makes Harm smile.

"Yup. Which means that if you would like, you and I can go grab the kitchen boxes from Mac's apartment before we really get this kitchen ready. That way we can donate anything that we have more than one of or whatever."

"Yeah, we can do that. Maybe we can see if we can get it all set before the furniture gets here. Then mom doesn't have to worry about really unpacking anything tonight."

"That sounds like a great idea. She will appreciate the thought."

The pair gets into the car and makes their way over to Mac's apartment pretty quickly, making small talk about the finals that Kate has this week and talking about the progress she's made in her room. The painting was coming along nicely, and it was turning out exactly the way that she wanted.

"Can you help me put the frames on the wall though? I don't really want them hanging on the wall, I kind of want them attached to the wall…. Wait does that make sense?"

"So you don't want them to come off is what you're saying, you want them flush against it?"

"Yes please."

"We can do that. Have you decided what you're going to put in their first?"

She thinks for a moment before telling him that she wanted the sketchbook page of them in one frame, one she did for art class in charcoal for another, and she was going to work on a few more things for the rest.

"I like that you decided to do it this way. It's neat that you'll be able to change things around when you want to."

"Thanks for letting me ruin the wall…." She says with a sheepish grin.

"Kate, you aren't ruining it…. You're making it your home and that is perfectly okay."

She smiles back at him from her spot and they finish the ride in silence, pulling up to Mac's apartment and filing up the stairs.

"Did she pack a bag for tonight too? I mean with her clothes and stuff?" the girl asks, walking into the apartment filled with boxes for them to take back to the apartment.

"I don't know. I know that she has an extra uniform at the house, but I don't know if she has anything beyond that."

"Oh, do you want me to grab her some stuff so we make sure she has it?"

"I think that would be a great idea, and get the stuff out of her bathroom too, just in case she didn't have enough at the house."

Kate makes her way into her mother's room, feeling both at home and awkward in the space. Little girls had the chance to play dress up in their mother's clothes, sneak makeup on while they weren't looking. She never really got that chance, so the feeling was a bit odd. She grabbed a few essentials, not taking any real time to focus on what she was grabbing from the more private drawers before moving on to getting some things for her to sleep in and a few casual outfits for when she got home.

When she went into the closet, she noticed a few things about her mother. She was a plain and simple dresser, with only a few subtle frills or prints amongst her wardrobe of "civilian clothes" as she referred to them. She was also a woman through and through…. Because one side of her closet was filled with these beautiful dresses that she couldn't imagine having an occasion to wear to. She spotted the dress uniform she had, tucked away in the back of the closet. There was a black, one-shouldered piece that was elegant in its simplicity, a red floor length gown with a draped back, and several others that were gorgeous.

"Hey, are you almost done?" Harm says, peeking in the closet as she was fingering a blue sparkling dress.

"Oh!" she nearly screams, surprised at his voice behind her.

"Sorry. I was able to get three or four of the boxes downstairs, and we only have like two left, so I thought we could get going."

"Oh, um… yeah, I just needed to get a few shirts for her and I'll be good to go." She says, turning away from that side of the closet and trying to act like she didn't get caught going through her mom's closet.

Harm picked up on it right away, the need to learn about the woman that her mother was. Mac had been totally honest with Kate and they had shared many of their tales with the young girl. He sensed though, that she still felt she had missed out on a lot.

"The blue one is from a mission. I'm surprised that she kept it… I think that it got ripped that evening."

"How?" she asks, looking at him for a moment with a blush on her cheeks before looking back at the dress.

"Do you really want to know?" he asks and she nods in response so he continues, "I believe that they were trying to find me and get me to come to them, so she fought with them and the main guy finally tripped her a bit. She ended up punching him out at the end of the night though, so she got her revenge.

"What happened?"

"Oh… yeah… we were on a CIA mission to get something from the Sudanese embassy… nothing major." He says, trying to act like it was no big deal.

She pauses for a moment then, realizing that the person who wrote the book on Sarah MacKenzie was right in front of her. She could ask him anything. "The black one?"

"NATO ball… we stopped an assassin from killing a princess before her father decided to have his country join NATO. It was the first time Mac and I ever danced now that I think about it. She made some comment about how I probably thought it was like dancing with my sister."

Kate laughs at that, knowing their history with skirting around each other for years and years. She knew he could never feel like dancing with her mom was like dancing with his sister.

"I told her it wasn't, but I don't think she believed me back then."

He tells her about all the gowns, blushing when she points out that he knows the story behind nearly every one that she points out to him. By the time they move on to him telling her what each medal of her mother's is on her dress uniform, they don't realize they have an audience.

"You know… you aren't helping the furniture people by being here at my apartment when they are there…." Mac says simply, causing the two of them to jump.

"What!?" Harm says with shock as he looks down at his phone and realizes that it is somewhere around 4:00.

"Don't worry, I sent Harriet over for a little bit after they called me wondering why they couldn't get hold of you." She says with an amused smirk.

"I left my phone in the car because I didn't think we were going to take that long. And… wait… how are you here right now?"

"I had an hour before I needed to get back and do some more at JAG, so I thought that I would come pack a bag so I didn't have to come back here tonight for anything."

"That's already done. Kate thought about that as we were coming to get your kitchen stuff."

"Why are you doing that?"

"We thought we had some time to kill and Kate only has one final because the other class she has tomorrow is P.E., so we thought we would go through all our kitchen boxes and figure out what stuff we were going to keep or donate and what else we might need."

"Well, that sounds like a great idea, but right now, I'd like you to get home and supervise the movers so we can get that done. Don't worry if you don't have any time to do the kitchen stuff tonight. We've got plenty of time to get settled into the house." She says, rubbing his shoulder in a gesture that shows her appreciation for all the thought that he was putting into their house becoming a home.

"I already got stuff for you to wear for a few days… Harm was just telling me about your dresses."

"My dresses?"

"I got distracted when I came in here… he caught me looking at one of them."

"Which one?" Mac asks out of curiosity, and raising a brow when Kate touches the blue fabric. "Ah, the embassy."

"Crazy story."

"Try being in the middle of it!"

"Harm told me all of his side of the stories, but maybe when we get you moved in, you can tell me about the ones he didn't remember… which oddly wasn't too many. Or maybe your side of the stories too?"

"We can certainly do that… for now though, you two need to get back home so we have furniture to actually sleep on tonight."

"Did you already wash all the new sheets?" Kate asks, already excited to get things moving in the house.

"I did… they're in the linen closet in the hallway."

"Okay, then we'll see you at home!" she says with a smile, walking out of the closet and grabbing a box to get down to the car.

"You know all the stories, huh?"

"The way you looked in some of those dresses, Mac… I could never forget any second."

She smiles back at him and leans in for a kiss before the two go their separate ways until the evening.


End file.
